Harry Potter and the Secret Chamber
by WolfsbaneKnight
Summary: [Sequel to Harry Potter and the Sacred Ash]. Last year Harry fought for his life. This year he hopes he won't have to. Yet as mysterious attacks plague Hogwarts, along with rumours of a secret chamber, Harry will find himself fighting not just for himself but for the whole of Hogwarts School of Pokémon Training.
1. The Burrow

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm back, and bring with me the second instalment in my Harry Potter/Pokemon story. If you haven't read the first part, 'Harry Potter and the Sacred Ash', please head to my profile page and give it a read first before this one. If you have read it then thank you for sticking with me for so long and I hope you'll enjoy 'Harry Potter and the Secret Chamber' just as much, if not more.

It feels like forever since 'Sacred Ash' finished (it's only actually been two weeks) and I have been really excited to start uploading again. As I did with the first instalment I'll be working on a twice weekly upload.

And now with all that out of the way let us begin.

* * *

Life at Number 4 Privet Drive wasn't great for young Harry Potter, just recently twelve years of age, but it had been worse. For one thing he was no longer forced to sleep in the small cupboard under the stairs, having instead been given the smallest of Number 4's four bedrooms, which had previously been used to store all the toys his cousin Dudley had gotten for birthdays and Christmases that he no longer wanted, which seemed an appropriate description of the way the Dursleys' viewed Harry.

Harry had no misconceptions that this sudden change had been due to a dramatic act kindness. Far from it, the Dursleys were in fact trying to save their own necks. If anyone from Harry's school, Hogwarts School of Pokémon Training, got wind that he was being forced to sleep in a cupboard the Dursleys would have been in real trouble.

That of course brought Harry to the most important reason for why his summer at the Dursleys had been somewhat bearable, his Pokémon.

At this moment Charmander let out a big yawn, stretching his arms and legs comically as he tried to wake himself up. In the corner of the room Fletchinder was making no such attempts, happily snoozing with his head tucked under his wing. Harry himself was tired but was too excited to even contemplate sleeping. For today Harry was leaving the Dursleys.

It had been a gift sent from heaven when Harry had received a telephone call from his best friend and fellow Pokémon trainer Ron Weasley inviting him to spend the remainder of the summer holiday with him at his family home.

The opportunity to spend the rest of his summer with Ron, not to mention the twins, Fred and George or even the prefect Percy, was one that was too good to pass up on. Harry had immediately said yes and now the day had finally arrived for Harry to be picked up.

Harry anxiously checked his watch one last time. There was only five minutes until Ron had said he was supposed to be there.

"Hey guys, why don't you get some rest," Harry suggested to his Pokémon, returning them each to their Pokéballs. The trio had been up all night packing and repacking, Harry wanting to be sure that he had everything he would need for his second year at Hogwarts.

Barely resisting the urge to open his trunk and double check everything was in there one more time, Harry once again glanced at his watch. And at that exact moment the doorbell rang.

Harry raced out of his room and hurried to answer, but it seemed luck would have it that Uncle Vernon had stepped into the downstairs hallway at the exact moment the doorbell rang and had already made the couple of steps to reach the front door.

"Yes," he said tersely, his face assuming its natural scowl as it always did whenever he had to talk to other people.

"Ah, hello there, you must be Harry's uncle, Veron, isn't it?" The pleasant voice on the other side of the door sounded genuine, which made it even harder for Harry to suppress his laughter as the vein near Uncle Vernon's temple pulsed angrily.

"It's Vernon," he ground out angrily, his moustache quivering in indignation. "And I would be quick about getting the boy if I were you, we don't stand for your lot around here."

By this point Harry had been able to get far enough down the stairs to see over Uncle Vernon's beefy shoulders.

"Harry!"

Standing next to an older, balding red haired man who could only be his father was Harry's best friend, Ron Weasley.

"Ah, yes it is," Mr Weasley agreed, adjusting his glasses and giving Harry a friendly smile. Harry thought it was a good thing Mr Weasley's attention was focused on him and not his uncle as Vernon's face was starting to grow red.

"Nice to meet you, Mr Weasley," Harry said politely. "I'll just go get my trunk. It's just in my room."

"Why don't I give you a hand," Mr Weasley said cheerfully, stepping forward only to find that Vernon would not budge. "Or not, perhaps," Mr Weasley considered with a frown at the other man.

"I'll be fine," Harry said quickly, not wanting to say anything that might prompt Uncle Vernon to act any worse than he already was. "I'll just be a second."

True to his word Harry was back in no time at all, dragging his heavy trunk down the steps behind him. Only then did Uncle Vernon shift out of the way to allow Harry to step through the threshold and out into the warm summer air.

"I'll see you next year," Harry said hesitantly, turning back to face his uncle. "Uh, good luck." Vernon grunted and with that closed the door in his face.

"Well, I never," Mr Weasley let out a small disapproving sound before straightening up, his genial smile falling easily back into place. "My, where are my manners?" he said with a laugh. "I haven't even properly introduced myself. Arthur Weasley, pleased to meet you."

"Harry Potter," Harry said with a smile. "And you too." Harry didn't know what it was but there was something about Mr Weasley's laugh that was contagious and Harry couldn't help but grin at the childish excitement the man showed while shaking his hand enthusiastically.

"Why don't I load your trunk into the boot of my car and we can get on our way," Mr Weasley said, taking hold of one of the trunks handles. "We're just over there, the blue Ford Anglia."

Harry was immediately glad that Uncle Vernon hadn't been aware of which vehicle the Weasley's had driven up in for he most certainly would not have approved of the weathered-looking sky blue Ford Anglia. Vernon often judged people on how expensive looking their car was and if he had seen the Weasley's vehicle he would have thought them the lowest of the low.

Not that it mattered to Harry as he climbed into the back seat of the clearly well used car, after all it was the people inside that mattered. Mr Weasley hoisted Harry's trunk into the boot behind them, cheerfully whistling a tune Harry didn't recognise, before getting behind the steering wheel and strapping himself in.

"It'll be a bit of a drive I'm afraid, Harry," Mr Weasley admitted. "It might get a bit stuffy back there so feel free to open a window," he added before releasing the hand break and pulling away from the curb. Next to him in the front passenger's seat Ron spun around to look at him.

"Jesus Harry, have you eaten at all since we left you?" Trust Ron to think about food first and foremost.

"Of course, just not the feasts we get at Hogwarts," Harry said with a grin. Already he was looking forward to the start of term banquet.

"Just you wait until you get a taste of mum's cooking," Ron responded. "Seriously, I would choose her cooking over Hogwarts'." Next to him his father chuckled.

"Well she had to be a good cook," he joked. "How else would she be able to keep control over all you lot." Ron grinned in agreement. "Anyway Harry, how has your summer been? Have you been up to anything nice?"

Harry shrugged. "Not really," he admitted. "I mean, you saw what Uncle Vernon was like. I'm sorry about him, by the way," he added, meeting Mr Weasley's eyes in the rear view mirror.

"Nonsense," Mr Weasley waved it away. "Everyone has their bad days." Harry shrugged, in his opinion Mr Weasley was being far too charitable.

"Hey, Harry, guess what I got back home," Ron said excitedly, drawing Harry's attention back to him. "Look," he said, pulling a Pokéball from his belt and pointing it at the empty space beside Harry.

A small blue Pokémon with a brown, shell covered body, appeared beside him. Harry pulled out his Pokédex.

"Squirtle," it announced, "the Tiny Turtle Pokémon. After birth, its back swells and hardens into a shell. Powerful sprays foam from its mouth."

"Wow, that's awesome," Harry said excitedly, examining the Pokémon closely.

"That's right, he is," Ron agreed with a grin. "I left Growlithe back home but he's doing great too, he just loves the smell of the flowers in our garden. How are your Pokémon doing, Harry?"

"Great," Harry told him, reaching for the two Pokéballs he had and releasing the Pokémon within. Charmander and Fletchinder appeared next to Squirtle, making it a tight fit but they all managed to find a spot to stay balanced as the car bumped along the road. "Hey guys, this is Squirtle," Harry introduced, pointing to the water type. "He's Ron's new Pokémon. Squirtle, these are my Pokémon, Charmander and Fletchinder."

The three Pokémon happily greeted each other and Harry was glad to see that they quickly struck up conversation. It would be good if all his and Ron's Pokémon got along well, especially considering how much time they would spend together.

"Two fire types," Mr Weasley commented from the front, glancing into the rearview mirror to see the three Pokémon. "I must say the Gryffindor first years do seem to have taken a liking for fire type Pokémon."

"Seamus was round just a few days ago," Ron explained. "Get this, his Chimchar evolved. It's a Monferno now, and it knows all these cool fighting type moves. I battled him with Growlithe and it was a tough one…" and so Ron continued his story as the beat up Ford Anglia said goodbye to Little Whinging and wound its way through the country roads en-route to the Weasley's.

"Ottery St Catchpole," Mr Weasley announced as a small village came into view. "Small village, not many people, but very friendly. We don't actually live in the village, we're a bit removed but we should be reaching our destination any moment now."

It seemed that any moment now was accurate as Mr Weasley almost immediately turned his Ford Anglia off the narrow country road and instead onto a beaten dirt track that snaked its way through a small thicket of trees before opening up to display a tall, very peculiar, very homely house.

"Welcome, to the Burrow!"

"Wow," Harry couldn't help but say. The Burrow was perhaps the most unusual building he had ever seen in his life. It stood several stories tall but at the same time the building seemed awfully unbalanced, with various rooms seeming to jut out over the floor below in ways that Harry was sure couldn't be structurally sound. Yet, somehow, the house remained standing.

Mr Weasley chuckled. "Well said, Harry," he remarked, pulling up into the small yard that stood before the house, scattering chickens as he did so. "My grandfather designed this house many years ago. He was quite eccentric but a brilliant engineer and we haven't had a single problem with the architecture in all the years we've lived here, and it has been a very long time."

"My room's at the top," Ron told him, opening up his car door energetically, seemingly happy to finally be able to stretch his legs. "I'll show you around and then we can go out back. We've got a small field we use for Pokémon battles and I've been wanting to try out a few new moves I've been working on. C'mon Squirtle." Squirtle jumped eagerly over to Ron and followed him out the car.

"All of that can wait until after lunch," Mr Weasley told his son. "I'm sure Mrs Weasley has prepared quite a meal in preparation for Harry's arrival." Ron looked pleased at that.

They were about to walk into the house, Mr Weasley insisting on carrying Harry's trunk for him, when the sound of a window banging open caused them to look up.

"Harry!" Fred and George leaned out the window, grinning from ear to ear as they looked down on them.

"Hey guys," Harry smiled, waving up at them. Fred and George, more commonly referred to simply as the Weasley twins, played Beater on the Gryffindor House Quidditch Team, of which Harry was also a member as the Seeker.

Another window banged open. "What's all this noise out here?" Percy Weasley asked, sticking his head out the window situated on the floor above Fred and George. It was a marvel of the architecture of the house that Percy didn't need to strain his neck to see Fred and George.

"Hey there Percy, haven't been seeing you lately," Fred called up to their more bookish older brother. Pranksters and jokers Fred and George were, and one of their favourite targets was Percy.

"I've been very busy," Percy said waspishly. "Unless you've forgotten I am expecting my exam results any day now so I would appreciate some peace and quiet."

"Oh come on Perce," George shouted. "Harry's here."

"Harry?" Percy blinked in surprise.

"Hello Percy," Harry called from the ground where he, Ron and Mr Weasley had been watching the exchange in amusement.

"Harry, how nice to see you," Percy said politely. "I trust you are well?"

"Healthy?" George called.

"Hale and hearty?," said Fred.

Harry grinned. "All three," he assured them getting a pair of grins in return from the twins and an eye roll from behind their back from Percy.

"If you boys would like to come down maybe you'll be able to catch up with Harry down in the kitchen," Mr Weasley suggested amusedly. "Then we can all sit down and have some of the delicious lunch your mum is making. Doesn't that sound good."

"Mhmm," Fred and George replied before simultaneously pulling back from the window and slamming it shut behind them.

"I'll be down shortly," Percy said properly, closing his window with a lot more care than Fred and George had.

"Alright, in we go," Mr Weasley said, gesturing them towards the door. Ron went first, opening the door to reveal a warm, if somewhat cramped kitchen, where the smells of food wafted through the air and out towards them, making their mouths water.

"Oh Harry, you're here," Mrs Weasley said happily, smiling over at him while she stirred a pot of some delicious smelling foodstuffs. Mrs Weasley was a squat woman with loads of flyaway red hair and a real motherly look about her. Given that she had seven children that was hardly surprising.

"Hi there Mrs Weasley," Harry replied, stepping through the door to allow Mr Weasley, heaving Harry's trunk over his shoulder, to shuffle in after him.

"I think we'll have company very soon," Mr Weasley told his wife and, sure enough, the sounds of feet thundering down the stairs reached their ears and Fred and George came hurtling into the kitchen, miraculously managing to avoid the table and chairs as they converged on Harry.

"Harry!" They shouted, as though they had just discovered he was here. "Absolutely splendid to have you here," Fred continued, throwing an arm around his shoulders, George doing the same on his other side causing Harry to lose his balance.

"Wonderful," George continued. "How great to see our favourite Gryffindor house mate."

"Thanks guys," Ron said with a sulk, crossing his arms and slumping into one of the seats.

"Honestly boys, settle down," Mrs Weasley scolded them exasperatedly. "The poor boy only just got here, at least let him have something to eat before you set upon him."

"Marvellous idea mum," Fred said cheerfully, he and George extracting themselves from the monstrosity of limbs that had been Harry, Fred and George, seating themselves down at the table and looking up at their mother expectantly.

Mrs Weasley sighed, shaking her head at her sons before turning a warm smile on Harry. "Hungry?" she asked.

"Starving," Harry replied, slipping into the seat beside Ron. He hadn't had anything to eat all day. He turned to his Pokémon. "Why don't you guys go and get some fresh air," he suggested, noting that with still Percy and Ron's only sister, Ginny, to come the kitchen was going to get really crowded.

"Good idea," Ron said. "Growlithe is out back, you guys can go say hello." Harry's Pokémon let out sounds of agreement before they followed Ron's Squirtle through the house and out of sight.

"Lunch is ready," Mrs Weasley announced, transferring bowls and platters across to the table with skill as her sons salivated over the delicious scents the food was creating. "Now if only the rest of us were here…"

"I'm here," Percy announced to that statement as he walked into the room, taking an experimental sniff and seeming satisfied.

"Before you sit down could you be a dear and get Ginny?" Mrs Weasley asked.

"I saw her when I was coming down," Percy replied respectfully. "She'll be here in a few moments."

"Thank you Percy," Mrs Weasley said gratefully before she caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye. "Ron, no! We don't start until everyone is here."

"Since when has that been a rule?" Ron complained, dropping the piece of bread he'd grabbed back into the basket.

"We have guests, Ronald," Mrs Weasley told him sternly, casting a meaningful glance at Harry.

Ron snorted. "Harry doesn't mind," Ron said and, seeming to think that the argument was over, he reached out for the bread again.

"Ronald, no!" Mrs Weasley said forcefully, giving a sharp rap on Ron's knuckles and causing him to drop the bread again.

"Ow! Mum!"

The potential argument was averted as the sound of the last member of the household, Ginny Weasley, coming down the stairs met their ears and soon enough she'd rounded the corner and stood in the entrance to the kitchen.

"Oh great, Ginny dear," Mrs Weasley said in relief. "Come on, take a seat and we can get started."

With the eight of them sitting down for the meal each of the roughly hewn wooden seats that surrounded the kitchen table was already occupied when Ginny came down, except for one, and that was right next to Harry.

"Hi," Harry said with a smile as Ginny slipped quietly into the seat next to him. She blushed red, quickly averting her eyes from him and mumbled back something incoherent. Harry wasn't quite sure what to do in reaction to that but he was saved from the awkward moment by Ron who quickly pulled him into a conversation about Squirtle. All the while Ginny sat silently at his side, eating her lunch without a sound.

"Do you think I can beat Dean with Growlithe and Squirtle?" Ron asked, shoving half a sausage into his mouth as he did so. Harry shrugged.

"I suppose Dean only has his Makuhita," Harry said. "So you'll have more Pokémon at least. But I don't know, I've never battled him before."

"Harry, I had a question I wanted to ask you about your Pokémon," Mr Weasley spoke up at that moment, talking across the table to him.

"Sure, what is it?" Harry asked.

"You have a Charmander and Fletchinder, right? I was wondering if you put any thought into becoming a fire type trainer?" Mr Weasley wondered.

"Eh, no, not really," Harry told him. He hadn't really thought about it before but he supposed that he could potentially become a fire Pokémon trainer if he wanted to. Though the idea didn't really appeal to him that much. "I don't really think I've learnt enough to choose yet. Besides, fire types are cool but there are so many other interesting Pokémon out there, like Squirtle. I wouldn't want to restrict myself yet."

"A reasonable choice," Mr Weasley approved. "I only wondered because we have something of a history with fire type Pokémon in this family. Of course Ron has his Growlithe but our oldest, Bill, he has a Darmanitan and a Volcarona and Charlie's Charizard was his starter Pokémon."

"Really?" Harry asked, surprised to hear that Charlie had the same starter Pokémon as him.

"We thought Charlie was going to be a fire type trainer," Mr Weasley admitted. "But then he started chasing dragons."

"What Pokémon do you have, Mr Weasley?" Harry asked, interested.

"Oh me," Mr Weasley chuckled. "I'm not much of a trainer to be honest. I just have my little Magby and Quilava to keep me company, as well as my wonderful wife of course." He gave Mrs Weasley a fond look, causing her to blush.

"Oh Arthur," she said, shaking her head in amusement.

"Yeah dad, enough of that, there's food here, you know," Fred interjected, his expression making it clear he didn't want to hear that sort of talk.

"Anyway, forget about all that nonsense," George said. "We're just trying to break the mould over here."

"Yeah," Fred agreed. "We're the only one's in this god forsaken family not to have fire type Pokémon as our starters."

"You got Kecleon, didn't you?" Harry asked.

"A highly fitting partner," Percy interjected cooly.

"So says the guy who got a Camerupt as his starter," Fred countered. "Anyway, we're hoping that little Gin-Gin over here is going to join us in our trendsetting ways."

"Oh, are you starting at Hogwarts this year?" Harry asked Ginny. To Harry's dismay she grew even more red at his comment and didn't say anything.

"Yes, Ginny will be starting this year," Mrs Weasley told him, taking pity on her embarrassed daughter. "As soon as the Hogwarts letters come we'll all arrange a trip to Diagon Alley."

"When will that be?" Ron asked. "There's only a couple of weeks before we head back to Hogwarts."

"It must be soon," Mrs Weasley said, sharing a worried look with her husband. "Usually the letters are delivered long before now. I thought something had happened to our delivery Pokémon but the Lovegood's girl is starting this year too and they haven't received anything either."

"I've been in communication with Benjy Harrison, he was Head Boy last year," Percy told the table importantly. "He's working for the Department of Education and he told me that Professor Dumbledore has been finding it difficult to appoint a new Pokémon Battling Professor."

Harry shifted uncomfortably at the change in the direction of the conversation.

"I'd imagine that would be quite difficult," Mrs Weasley said with a worried expression on her face.

"No bet, since the last guy had his face melted off," Fred added helpfully.

"Mum, can I show Harry up to my room?" Ron asked, intervening before Mrs Weasley could scold her son for his crassness.

Thrown, Mrs Weasley took a moment to reply. "As long as you're both finished eating," she said.

"We are," Ron told her, pulling out his chair and standing up. "Come on, Harry. Leave your trunk, we'll bring it up later." Harry followed after Ron as he led them out of the kitchen, through a small and cosy sitting room and up the staircase.

"Sorry about all that," Ron told him in a low voice. "Didn't think you'd want to hear all that stuff about Quirrel."

Harry gave a short sigh. "Thanks," he said gratefully. Truly he hadn't expected the mention of their old Pokémon Battling Professor but at the mention of his name the image of Quirrel, standing with his face melting away having just walked through a pillar of fire, his eyes red and cruel, fixed itself on his mind.

"Hey, what was wrong with Ginny?" Harry asked, shaking his head to clear away the terrible image and focusing on something else. "She seemed fine when I met her last year. Did I do something wrong?"

"Nah mate, she's just nuts," Ron answered easily as they continued to rise up the stairs. Ron had said his bedroom was right at the top.

"Right," Harry responded. That didn't really seem like an answer. Ron glanced over his shoulder at him, seeing his disbelief.

"Don't worry about it," he told him. "She's just shy. See, we grew up hearing stories all about Pokémon trainers who defeated evil and all that, and Ginny's favourite story was always… well, it was always the one about you." Ron's cheeks went red as he said that. "She's not usually like this, she never shuts up normally, but you're a bit of a celebrity to her, you know."

"I really don't," Harry said, bewildered.

Ron shrugged. "I guess not," he agreed. "But don't worry, she'll get used to having you around after a while and then you'll get to see exactly why having her shut up for a change isn't the worst thing in the world." They reached the top of the stairs. "In here," Ron said, opening the only door available and gesturing Harry inside.

Ron's room was… orange. That was the only thing Harry could really describe it as for it was all he could see when he stepped inside. The walls and ceiling were a bright orange colour and it took a while for Harry to realise that the walls weren't actually painted this way, they were just covered in poster after poster all featuring the same seven people, all dressed in vibrant orange clothes, and the same seven Pokémon.

"Is that…?" Harry asked.

"The Chudley Cannons," Ron said proudly. "Remember I told you how the Seeker uses a Fletchinder? Well, there it is, look."

"Blimey Ron," Harry said, starting to come to terms with all the orange and finally able to make out the rest of the room. There wasn't much space, the room was quite small, but somehow the Weasleys had been able the jam a fold away bed in by the window, leaving very little floor space.

"Yeah, we're all pretty Quidditch nuts around here," Ron admitted as Harry picked his way over to his bed and sat down, looking out the window at the Weasley's back garden. He remembered that his Pokémon had gone off down there but, being so high up, he couldn't see down to the back garden with the window closed.

"Ginny is a big fan of the Holyhead Harpies," Ron said, not noticing Harry's inattention and rolling his eyes at his sister's choice of team. "It's an all girls team, if you can believe that. Then Charlie is a Ballycastle Bats fan. It used to be great when we'd be able to get tickets to games but they all take place during term time so, anyway…"

As Ron continued on Harry gently pushed the window open, letting a much needed breeze flutter into the room, before he lay back on his bed and relaxed. It had been a long summer, mostly spent holed up in his room to spare himself the condemnation of the Dursleys, but now he was here, at the Burrow, with his friends and his Pokémon. He was finally back in the Pokémon world.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hope you've enjoyed this and I look forward to seeing you in the next chapter.


	2. Gilderoy Lockhart

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

It took Harry no time at all to get used to life at The Burrow. Every day they would all traipse down to the kitchen over the course of the morning and munch down on some breakfast before heading out into the garden to enjoy the fine weather they'd been having. Every evening they'd be back in the kitchen for a stupendous feast before, filled to the brim, they'd head off to bed.

A specific positive of staying with the Weasleys for Harry was that he was able to get to know all the different Pokémon the Weasley family had collected. He had been surprised to discover that Fred and George didn't just have their Kecleon, those being the only Pokémon Harry had seen them with, but they also had a Bug type Pokémon each; Fred a Volbeat, George an Illumise.

Percy too was someone who had more Pokémon than Harry had anticipated. Along with his starter Pokémon Camerupt he also had a Natu, the un-evolved form of Xatu, a Baltoy, a fascinating Ground and Psychic type, and a Dunsparce, a … well Harry wasn't entirely sure what Dunsparce was, the Pokémon seeming to do little else than float around absentmindedly on its tiny, frail looking wings.

On top of that there was Mr Weasley's Magby and Quilava, Mrs Weasley's Gloom and the family Noctowl, Errol, not to mention Ron's Pokémon, Growlithe, Squirtle and his sleepy Rattata, Scabbers.

The routine of the Weasley household was finally broken just over one week after Harry had come to stay. The family and Harry were all sitting at the kitchen table for breakfast when a loud call was heard from outside.

"At last," Mrs Weasley said, getting up from the table and walking over to the door, opening it and walking outside. Harry tried to lean back to see what she was doing but only succeeded in nearly toppling over his chair, causing Ron to snigger.

"Careful there, Harry," Mr Weasley said kindly, smiling in amusement.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, looking to the door again but not daring to try and peek out.

"Your Hogwarts letters, I'd wager," Mr Weasley told him. "Every year the Hogwarts letters are delivered to returning students by Headmaster Dumbledore's Dragonite. I imagine Molly is trying to convince him to come have a bite to eat as we speak."

At this point Mrs Weasley returned, unfortunately without Dragonite but instead with a handful of envelopes in her hands.

"Hogwarts letters," she announced, passing each letter to the person it was addressed to. "Here's your one, Ginny dear." Mrs Weasley said kindly, passing the last letter to her only daughter who looked really excited.

Ginny's attitude around Harry hadn't changed much in the week he'd been there but he was starting to get an idea, based on the rare moments Ginny would forget he was there, of just what sort of personality Ginny had. One of the things he had learned was that she was desperate to go to Hogwarts, something Harry could relate to.

"Now we can go to Diagon Alley," Ron said excitedly as he opened his letter. "I've been wanting to check out Quality Quidditch Supplies, they'd got new posters in for the Cannons, Seamus said."

"While the rest of us can go do something constructive," Percy said snootily.

"Like the joke shop," Fred and George said together. "Or the apothecary," George added, casting a side long look at Percy who had paled suddenly. Clearly there was a story there that Harry was not privy to.

"We can all go together on Saturday," Mrs Weasley said brightly. "That way your father won't have to work and can drive us down to London."

"Mhm," Mr Weasley said in agreement, looking over Ron's shoulder as he consulted his book list. There was a worried expression on his face.

"Arthur?" Mrs Weasley asked but she was answered instead by Fred as he let out a low whistle.

"That's a lot of books," he commented, looking at his own booklist.

"Have you got all the Lockhart books, too?" Ron asked, leaving his letter with his dad and walking around the table to Fred.

"Lockhart?" Mrs Weasley said in surprise. A slight blush adorned her cheeks. Harry looked down at his own booklist. There were indeed a lot of books, and most of them seemed to be written by the same author.

"Break with a Blissey, by Gilderoy Lockhart. Gadding with Golduck, by Gilderoy Lockhart. Holidays with Hawlucha, by Gilderoy Lockhart. Blimey, whoever our new Battling Professor is they sure are a big Lockhart fan," George commented.

"Who's Gilderoy Lockhart?" Harry asked. Ron, Fred and George gave him a dark look. Mrs Weasley on the other hand looked flustered.

"Oh he's so terribly clever," she said. "So many books. I found particularly useful his guide for dealing with household pests, a wonderful read."

"Mum just likes him because he's handsome," Ron told Harry, causing Mrs Weasley to look scandalised.

"Pretty, Ron," Fred corrected. "The word is pretty." George nodded along.

"Just because he's won Pokémon Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award doesn't mean he's not talented," Mrs Weasley said sternly, but no one believed her.

"Either way this lot is going to be awfully expensive," Mr Weasley told them, still frowning. "We may have to go scour through Bill and Charlie's old Hogwarts supplies for some copies of the other books."

Harry fell quiet as Mr and Mrs Weasley started to discuss various ways to cut the cost of five sets of school supplies before Mr Weasley eventually left for work. Harry had known the Weasleys weren't well off, Ron had straight up admitted it to him the first time they met, but it was hard for Harry to watch them struggle when he himself had a veritable fortune resting in his Gringotts vault.

That Saturday the Weasleys and Harry made the trip into London to visit Diagon Alley. Originally Harry had been worried how they were going to fit all eight of them into Mr Weasley's beaten up old Ford Anglia but it quickly became apparent that the Weasleys had a second vehicle at their disposal, an equally dinged up minivan that seated them, not exactly comfortably, but well enough.

Still it was quite some relief when Mr Weasley pulled into a car park not too far from the Leaky Cauldron, the world renowned entrance to Pokémon London, and let the children out from the back. They quickly crossed the distance to the dingy pub and, before Harry knew it, they were on Diagon Alley.

It was just as wonderful as Harry remembered it.

"Gringotts first," Mr Weasley said as Mrs Weasley kept the children in line, Fred and George being particularly eager to give her the slip so they could spend as much time as possible in the joke shop. "After that I suppose we can work out what to do next. There are an awful lot of people here today."

He was right, Diagon Alley was a lot busier than the last time Harry had been there with Hagrid as his companion and Harry had to assume that the extra shoppers were Hogwarts students and their families, taking the only real opportunity they could to get their school supplies due to the lateness of their Hogwarts letters arriving.

They stopped off at Gringotts first, Mr Weasley having what on the outside appeared to be a one way conversation with one of the Kadabra manning the counter, although Harry knew otherwise; it was telepathy.

The Gringotts carts were much too small for them all to come along in so instead only Harry and Mr Weasley took the trip underground to where Gringotts kept their vaults, the two of them fitting in the cart much better than Hagrid had managed the year before.

Their first stop was at the Weasley family vault and Mr Weasley made short work of gathering nearly all of the coins up and transferring them into a small pouch, leaving no more than a few Sickles and Knuts behind.

"Good thing my next pay check is coming in soon," Mr Weasley joked as he clambered back into the cart. If anything it made Harry feel even worse as they pulled up to his vault, revealing more gold Galleons than the Weasleys had Galleons, Sickles and Knuts put together. Harry felt guilty that he was taking advantage of the Weasley's hospitality when he could easily pay for it but when he brought the subject up with Mr Weasley he simply shook his head.

"That money was left to you so you can look after yourself until you're old enough to get a job of your own," he told Harry sternly. "Don't go worrying about me, Harry. We've got enough to get by and it wouldn't be right to accept money from you. You are our guest, Harry, not our tenant."

They had reached the rest of the Weasleys by this point and Mr Weasley clapped his hands together loudly to get their attention.

"Alright, we're done here," he told them all. "Now, I've been thinking and it is quite simply too busy to go wandering around in a group." Mrs Weasley looked a bit worried about where he was going with this. "That's why I think we should split up and get our supplies separately and then meet up again at Flourish and Blotts at say, 1 o'clock."

"That sounds like a good idea, father," Percy said, standing up stiffly. "There are certain items I need to look into if I am to do my job as prefect to the best of my abilities for the next year." Behind him Fred and George made faces.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Arthur?" Mrs Weasley asked. She was clutching onto Ginny's hand and the poor girl looked as though she was starting to lose feeling in her fingers.

"Absolutely," Mr Weasley said simply. "It'll be much more efficient and with luck we'll be back home in time for a delicious home cooked feast, mhm."

Mrs Weasley looked far from convinced but agreed nevertheless and so the group split up, the Weasley parents taking Ginny over to Ollivander's, Percy heading off to complete his 'prefect business', and Fred and George to the joke shop for what they described as 'anti-prefect business', leaving Harry and Ron on their own to wander the bustling alley.

There wasn't much the two boys needed for the upcoming year, the one big item being the large list of books they had to acquire. They stopped briefly at the apothecary to top up their potions supplies and Harry briefly indulged Ron's Cannons obsession as he flicked through the latest Chudley posters in Quality Quidditch Supplies. After that they headed to Madam Malkin's.

Neither Harry nor Ron actually needed any new clothes, Harry having not grown at all over the summer while Ron was only just starting to fill out his clothes from last year, but they decided to pay the Pokémon trainer's attire shop a visit anyway. Harry had been feeling slightly disloyal to Fletchinder, as his old clothes featured only Charmander on them, so he splashed some cash on a winter hat with a Fletchinder sewn in, Ron following suit with a turquoise summer t-shirt for Squirtle.

Exiting Madam Malkin's coincided perfectly with the time they needed to meet up with the rest of the Weasleys so Harry and Ron quickly made their way down the street to the bookshop, Flourish and Blotts.

"Jesus, it's mad out here," Ron commented as they tried to push through the crowd to the door. A squat, sturdy man pushed back.

"Watch it kids, get to the back of the queue," the man snarled at them, waving a briefcase at them in an attempt to knock them away, although the pressing crowd nearly caused him to lose his balance instead.

"This is a queue?" Harry said doubtfully. It seemed more like a mob. The man turned to look at Harry but as he went to say something his jaw dropped, and so did his briefcase, falling out of his slackened hand.

"You're…" he began but he was fortunately cut off as a new voice made itself heard.

"Harry! Ron! Over here!" Mrs Weasley was just visible through the crowd, her red hair standing out against the rest of the blondes and brunettes, and Harry and Ron quickly made their way over, Ron taking the lead as the taller of the two and more likely to be able to shove people out of the way.

One thing the muggle world, muggle being a term used to describe non-Pokémon trainers, had over the Pokémon world was that nobody recognised Harry back at Privet Drive. Even the neighbours sometimes forgot he existed. However, in the Pokémon world he was famous, famous for being the only survivor and only witness to the destruction of the most evil Pokémon trainer of all time, Lord Voldemort.

Harry's mother and father had died in the encounter and it was always an unpleasant reminder when a stranger stopped him in the street.

"There you are," Mrs Weasley said with a sigh of relief as Harry and Ron joined her; she was looking more harried than ever. Beside her were Mr Weasley, Ginny and Percy, but no sign of the twins.

"They are in the shop already, if you can believe that," Mrs Weasley asked when Ron pointed this out. "Who knows what they are up to." From the expression on her face, and on Percy's, they were sure it couldn't be anything good.

"Why is there such a crowd?" Harry asked. They were much closer to the door now and Harry could see that the queue, as it was, stretched right through the doors of Flourish and Blotts.

"Well, Gilderoy Lockhart is here," Mrs Weasley said, looking quite excited. "He's signing autographs on copies of his new book, that's why everyone is queueing up."

"Dear god," Ron said, his tone disgusted. Mrs Weasley did not look pleased.

"I would change your attitude, Ronald Weasley," she scolded him. "Your new Pokémon Battles Professor seems to think very highly of Gilderoy Lockhart so I would start being more open-minded if I were you."

Ron snorted. "The only way any of our professors would think 'highly' of Lockhart is if they had a crush on him, or he took the Battles job himself."

"Well, now that you mention it," Mr Weasley said calmly, drawing all their attention. He was holding a copy of the Daily Prophet and on the front page, beaming at them, was a picture of a very handsome man with flowing blonde hair and a huge grin.

"No," surprisingly it wasn't Ron who said this, but Percy. He pulled the paper out of his father's grasp and started to read the article, his expression getting more and more bewildered as he read.

"What does it say, Perce?" Ron asked, looking equally worried. Percy cleared his throat, evidently trying to pull himself together before he adjusted his horn rimmed glasses and started to read aloud.

"In a statement made late last night Headmaster Albus Dumbledore of Hogwarts School of Pokémon Training said he was proud to announce the candidate to succeed Professor Quirinus Quirrel as the Pokémon Battling Professor at Hogwarts will be none other than Gilderoy Lockhart, the famous explorer and bestseller."

"No," Ron said in disbelief. "That can't be possible." Percy gave him a dark look before reading on.

"Mr Lockhart, who is scheduled to appear at Flourish and Blotts in Diagon Alley to promote his new book, 'Magical Me', said early this morning that he is delighted to share his knowledge and wisdom with the children of Hogwarts that have grown up reading about his exploits."

"'I have always written for the enjoyment of my fans,' Mr Lockhart said. 'What better way is there to reward them than to pass on my many years of acquired knowledge to the nation's children'"

"Such a great man," Mrs Weasley said, discretely dabbing at her eyes. "And to think, he'll be teaching you all. And in Ginny's first year too. With luck he'll see her all the way through Hogwarts."

"When asked to comment Headmaster Dumbledore described Mr Lockhart as 'reliable' and the best that Hogwarts could hope for," Percy finished. "Hardly a ringing endorsement," he commented dryly.

By now the line had shuffled forward a few steps and Harry was finally able to squeeze inside the shop and get himself some space to breath.

"Why don't you four go on and collect your books," Mr Weasley suggested to Harry, Ron, Ginny and Percy. "And try to find the twins while you're at it. I've got a feeling we'll still be queueing for awhile." Given Mrs Weasley's excitement at the idea of meeting Gilderoy Lockhart that seemed to be the case so the four children said brief goodbyes before heading off into the bookshelves.

"Hey, Ginny," Ron said, turning to his sister as they walked down a potions aisle. "You got your starter Pokémon, right?" Ginny nodded. "What did you get?" Ginny mumbled something. Unfortunately Harry was there so whatever it was she said didn't get through.

"Why don't you show us?" Harry suggested. Ginny blushed red, quickly turning away when she caught Harry's eyes, but she nodded and held up a Pokéball which Harry had only just realised had been clasped firmly in her hand the whole time. A light burst out and a small red Pokémon appeared in Ginny's arms. Harry took out his Pokédex.

"Vulpix, the Fox Pokémon. At the time of birth it has just one tail. The tail splits from its tip as it grows older."

"Char," Charmander, who had been clinging to Harry's shoulder, crawled down his arm to introduce himself, waving his tail over to Vulpix in a greeting. Vulpix called back happily before scrunching up its nose and sneezing.

"Hey, Vulpix has the ability Flash Fire too," Harry said as he read from his Pokédex. Ron's Growlithe also had the ability. "And it's a girl with the moves Ember, Tail Whip, Quick Attack, and Confuse Ray." Harry smiled at the Pokémon. "Seems like a pretty cool Pokémon you've got, Ginny."

Ginny blushed red, and wrapped her arms more firmly around Vulpix who looked up in surprise. "Thank you," Ginny mumbled. They were the first words she'd ever said to Harry.

"Oh great," a drawling voice Harry recognised only too well interrupted. "A reunion."

Draco Malfoy, an annoyance from day one for Harry and Ron at Hogwarts, was standing at the end of their aisle. His eyes alighted on Vulpix.

"Another Weasley," he sneered. "And another weak Pokémon. I wonder, do they breed humans. That's the only way I can imagine there being just so many useless trainers."

"Enough of that, Malfoy," Percy said sharply, looking very annoyed. "We may not be at school but that doesn't mean you can make these kinds of comments and expect to get away with it." Malfoy ignored Percy with barely a disdaining glance, focusing his malicious gaze on Ginny instead.

"And look, a girl Weasley," he sneered. "I think we could have hit a new low this year, and that's saying something."

"Ignore him, Ginny," Ron said roughly. "He's all talk. He's just mad because his Snivy doesn't stand a chance against any of our Pokémon."

Malfoy smirked. "Think again Weasley," he drawled and from his pocket he withdrew a Pokéball. It burst open and the creature within stood before them, surveying them all with a unimpressed look.

"Maybe my Snivy would have had trouble with your Pokémon," Malfoy said, his voice suggesting how little he thought that to be true. "But against my Servine, well… I wouldn't bet money on it." His eyes narrowed maliciously. "Not that you've got money to bet."

Ron was red with rage. "Why you…" he started angrily but Percy spoke up first.

"I'm warning you Malfoy I will not tolerate such insults," he said, his voice sharp but his words largely pointless as Malfoy simply continued to ignore him.

"I sense I touched a nerve," Malfoy grinned at Ron before turning his attention to Harry. "I see your Pokémon hasn't evolved Potter," he disparaged. "Not that I'm surprised."

"Your pretty confident for a guy with nothing to brag about," Harry countered. He didn't so much care about the dig at him but the way he had treated the Weasleys was something else entirely. "Last time we faced off I remember I won while you got detention, with Snape."

"Hah," Ron laughed, looking viciously pleased with Harry's retort. Malfoy had paled and was no longer smirking superiorly. Instead he looked angry.

"We'll see about that," he snapped. "I warn you Potter, you may think you're so great but you'll get what's coming to you." And he stalked off, Servine following behind him with an identical look of distaste.

"Well," Percy blustered after Malfoy had left. "What an insolent boy."

"Who, the Malfoy kid?" George asked. He and Fred had just appeared where Malfoy had been standing. "We just passed him. He did not look happy." And so Ron told them everything that had happened before the twins turned up. At the end they were looking almost as angry as Ron was.

"That little prick," Fred said. "Told you it was a good thing I slipped Darumaka droppings into his bag." George nodded in agreement. Percy just pretended he hadn't heard anything.

The trip was pretty uneventful from then on. The children payed for their school books, the sheer number of them causing them to crumple under their weight, and rejoined Mr and Mrs Weasley, Mrs Weasley glowing and clutching to her chest her own autographed copy of 'Magical Me'. They fought their way back out of the shop and headed back to the Leaky Cauldron and the place they'd parked the minivan. Soon enough they were on their way back to the Burrow, their ride significantly more crowded with all the extra luggage.

Sitting in the back Harry glanced over at Ginny. She hadn't said a word since Flourish and Blotts and even now was staring at her knees, ignoring the conversation around her. Harry nudged her leg.

"Hey," he said quietly so as not to draw the others attention. Ginny looked up, startled, before quickly blushing and looking down again. Harry was by now used to this behaviour.

"Don't worry about what Malfoy said," Harry told her, just catching a brief glimpse of her face through the curtain of red hair. "He's a git but most people aren't like that. You'll have a great time at Hogwarts." Through the hair Harry caught the corners of Ginny's mouth twitching into a smile and he sat back, happy to spend the rest of the trip in peace.


	3. A Strange Encounter

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

The last week at the Burrow passed by in a flash. They spent their days much like they had before, challenging each other to Pokémon battles and enjoying games of pickup Quidditch, while Mrs Weasley continued to cook up delicious meals, all the while carrying around 'Magical Me' like a valued treasure. Ginny had started to brighten up too, absolutely adoring her new Pokémon and doting on it constantly, all the while seeming to get more and more comfortable in Harry's presence. She still blushed deeply whenever he spoke to her but it was still a major improvement.

However the summer had to end and so on the morning of September 1st the Weasley family and Harry loaded up Mr Weasley's minivan with their trunks and headed off to London.

It was a challenging trip, as any trip was when you had Fred and George locked in such a small space, but they managed to make it to Kings Cross without anyone trying to kill each other and made their way to the barrier.

"We're running a bit late," Mrs Weasley said anxiously. "Fred. George. You two first." The twins quickly ran through the barrier, disappearing from sight to the mysterious location of platform nine and three quarters. Percy followed after them, and then Mr and Mrs Weasley led Ginny through. Lastly were Harry and Ron.

"Quickly, onto the train!" Mrs Weasley called to them in alarm. The doors were all being slammed shut as the conductor marched down the platform, the Hogwarts Express already set to leave.

Harry and Ron ran forwards, passing their trunks up to Fred and George and jumping on after them, just in time as the conductor walked past and shut the door. He blew on his whistle and within moments the train started moving.

"Have a great year!" Mrs Weasley shouted as the train started to pull away from the platform. "Behave yourselves!" Fred and George grinned at each other. They continued to hang out the window, waving back towards the platform until the Express had finally left the station completely and began the long journey up to Hogwarts.

"Alright," Fred said as they pulled themselves away from the window. "Sorry to run off so soon be we are on the look out for Lee."

"Yeah," George added. "He said he caught a Joltik over the summer, so we have to check it out."

"See you later." And they were gone.

"I guess we should go find a compartment," Harry said as he, Ron and Ginny were left alone in the corridor.

"Good luck with that," Ron commented. "The train will be packed." But they set off anyway and, like Ron had predicted, each and every compartment they checked was filled with students.

"Harry! Ron!"

Hermione Granger, Harry and Ron's best friend at Hogwarts and the smartest trainer in the year, rushed forward and engulfed them in a hug.

"I've missed you both so much," she told them as she pulled away, smiling at them. "Talking on the phone just isn't the same."

"Agreed," Harry said. The months spent at the Dursley's with only the voices of Ron and Hermione to ground him had been a hardship he'd rather have not endured.

"It's so great to be going back," Hermione continued before spotting the third member of the group.

"You must be Ginny," Hermione said, holding out her hand. "Hermione Granger, pleased to meet you." Ginny mumbled out a similar response as they shook.

"Hermione, where's your trunk?" Harry asked, noticing that she was without any of her luggage.

"I left it in the compartment," Hermione told him. "Come on, it's just back here." She led the way back down the corridor.

"You're looking well, Harry," she commented, taking a closer inspection of him as Ron and Ginny conversed behind them. The stories he'd told her about the Dursley's had probably put a lot of doubt in her mind.

"The result of having Mrs Weasley cooking for you every day," Harry told her, rubbing his belly as he did so. He did feel as though he was a much more healthy weight now, although he suspected he'd always be slightly on the scrawny side.

"It's good that you were able to stay with Ron for the end of summer," Hermione said. "I kind of wished I was there too. Waiting to return to school was so hard, especially with how long it was before we got our Hogwarts letters.

"We should all meet up next summer," Harry suggested. "You'd love the Burrow. And Mr and Mrs Weasley are really nice."

"Maybe you two can come visit my place too," Hermione said excitedly. "I'd love for my parents to meet some of my classmates, I think they feel a bit isolated from my world since I left for Hogwarts." Hermione stopped and pulled open a compartment door. "Neville, we're ba-… oh, who's this?"

Harry popped his head round the corner to see his friend and dorm mate, Neville Longbottom, smiling back at them, sitting opposite a tiny blonde haired girl who Harry was sure he'd never seen before in his life.

He was sure he'd have remembered her too. She was wearing a pair of spectacles so large they distorted her already protuberant eyes and the look was topped off with a necklace made out of cork and a pair of what looked like radish earrings. In her arms a small brown Pokémon was curled up.

"Hey Harry," Neville greeted, his smile genuine but slightly awkward, Harry supposing that had something to do with the unusual girl opposite him. Down at his feet sat Neville's two Pokémon, his Croagunk Trevor and his starter Pokémon Bulbasaur. Except…

"Wow Neville," Harry said, looking down at the Pokémon at his feet. "Bulbasaur evolved?!"

Neville's smile grew as he nodded, looking down in pride at his Ivysaur, a Pokémon sharing many of the same characteristics as Bulbasaur except it was bigger and, from what Harry could see, it looked stronger too.

"Uncle Algie kept challenging me to battles," Neville told him. "Then Bulbasaur just… evolved. It was amazing."

"That's great Neville, but who is this?" Hermione asked, seemingly put out that her question had been ignored. However Neville didn't get the chance to answer as Ron and Ginny came into sight of the compartment door and each gave very significant reactions to the girls presence. Ginny squealed in delight. Ron groaned.

"Uh, this is Luna," Neville introduced, confused by the Weasleys' reactions. "She's a first year, she just turned up and…" Neville tailed off.

"Yeah she does that," Ron muttered as he dragged their trunks into the compartment; Ginny had hurried off to talk to 'Luna'.

"Do you know her?" Harry asked. He assumed they must but he was completely confused by what had happened.

Ron grimaced slightly. "She lives near us," he explained, lowering his voice so the first year girls couldn't hear him. "Her name is Luna Lovegood and she's a bit… off. Can't really explain it, she's just weird."

"Well that's not a very nice thing to say," Hermione admonished. Ron rolled his eyes.

"You'll see," Ron muttered, plonking himself down on a free seat and only realising too late that he was sitting right across from Luna Lovegood.

"Hello Ronald," Luna said. Her voice was soft and almost ethereal in quality. She stared at Ron intently, her large eyes unblinking as she inspected him. Ron shifted uncomfortably.

"Um, hi Luna," he replied back, avoiding eye contact.

"Mhm," Luna said thoughtfully, still staring at Ron. "Yes, I see. The Wrackspurts are all over you." Harry, Hermione and Neville shared a look.

"Wrackspurts?" Neville asked, looking worried.

"Don't," Ron warned in a low voice. "They're not real."

"Oh yes they are," Luna insisted, her voice rising slightly as she did so. "They are very difficult to find and are invisible. That's why I'm wearing these glasses," she tapped the giant spectacles she was wearing. "They allow me to see what is unseeable. And then you have to defend against them." She fingered her cork necklace.

"I've never heard of a Pokémon called a Wrackspurt," Hermione said. She looked bothered that there could have been a Pokémon that she'd missed.

"Oh, Wrackspurts aren't Pokémon," Luna assured her. "They're not animals either. They're something else." What exactly something else was Luna didn't say. Instead she turned her unwavering gaze on Harry.

"You're Harry Potter," she said simply.

"Uh, yeah," Harry said awkwardly back. "Eh, nice to meet you." Luna didn't respond to him but instead turned to Ginny.

"He's much nicer in person," she commented airily. "I can see why you like him." Ginny blushed deep red and Harry too felt his cheeks burn at the comment. Luna, however, didn't seem to grasp that she'd said anything unusual for she simply returned to staring around the compartment.

Harry cleared his throat. "So Luna, eh, what Pokémon have you got there?" Now that he was closer he recognised the Pokémon looked really quite similar to Ginny's Vulpix, except with lighter fur.

"This is Pandora," Luna introduced, looking down into her arms. "She's sleeping now but I'm sure she'd like to meet you."

"It's an Eevee, Harry," Hermione answered. It seemed like Luna's strange conversation style was rubbing the bookish girl the wrong way. Harry pulled out his Pokédex.

"Eevee, the Evolution Pokémon," the Pokédex told him. "Its genetic code is irregular. It may mutate if it is exposed to radiation from element stones."

"Wow, that sounds awesome," Ron said, impressed as he looked down at the sleeping Pokémon in a new light.

"Eevee has eight different possible evolutionary paths," Hermione told them. "Given the right situation it can evolve into any one of Vaporeon, Jolteon, Flareon, Espeon, Umbreon, Leafeon, Glaceon, or Sylveon, all of which are different types."

"Which Pokémon do you want to evolve Eevee into, Luna?" Neville asked interestedly. Luna shook her head.

"It does not matter to me," she said airily. "People put too much emphasis on Pokémon species but I care about Pandora as a Pokémon no matter what she turns out to be."

Hermione humphed. Evidently she took Luna's comment as a dig at her knowledge of the Eevee evolutionary line. Harry honestly couldn't say whether he thought that was the case or not. Like Ron had warned them, Luna was simply weird.

The rest of the trip was an adventure. They talked like they normally did, catching up on what they had been doing over the summer, their Pokémon joining them and making the compartment a bit crowded. But Luna had a habit of making comments so unusual and unexpected that conversation simply stopped, everyone too confused to think of anything to say.

The only one who seemed immune to this was Ginny. While Ron groaned whenever Luna said something weird and Hermione got annoyed at the constant tangents she took, Ginny simply took everything Luna said in her stride. Secretly Harry hoped that the two of them would get sorted together, since they seemed like they got along well and Harry struggled to see any way Luna would be able to make new friends without someone there to help her.

The Hogwarts Express eventually pulled into Hogsmeade station and Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville said goodbye to Ginny and Luna, leaving them in the capable hands of Hagrid, who this year was accompanied by Norbert, his young Bagon, who waved happily at them as they passed.

The new second years had yet to experience how most of the students got from Hogsmeade station up to Hogwarts castle, since last year they were taken across the lake in boats pulled by Lapras in preparation for their sorting.

It turned out that the rest of the school made their way up in carriages, except instead of being pulled by a horse they were guided by Pokémon that largely resembled Zebra. Harry had met Zebstricka before, since it was one of Hagrid's duties to look after them all year round, and so he made a quick detour to say hello before jumping into the carriage with Hermione, Ron and Neville.

"I hope we get there soon," Ron muttered as the carriage rolled along the dirt track to Hogwarts. "I'm starving."

It took little time for Zebstricka to transport them to the castle and within moments they had made their way inside the great oak front doors and into the Great Hall.

"Hey there younglings," Fred called from the Gryffindor table, waving the group over to them. There wasn't much of a system about where you sat but Harry supposed that it was customary to leave space at the end of the table for the new students to sit once they were sorted. Fred and George had chosen seats right on the edge of this space.

"Hey guys," Harry said, slipping into the seat beside them as Hermione, Ron and, more nervously, Neville followed suit. "How was Joltik?" Lee Jordan, Quidditch Commentator and supposed owner of said Joltik was nowhere to be seen.

"Electrifying," Fred said with a grin.

"Seriously," George added. "He got quite a fright when we left the train, shocked Lee bad. He's up in the Hospital Wing right now, though Madam Pomfrey says he'll be fine. Must be a new record, right Fred?"

"We've never managed to end up in the Hospital Wing this early, that's for sure," Fred agreed.

"Honestly," Hermione muttered, giving the twins a disapproving look. The hall was filling up steadily and the house tables were gradually becoming noisier and noisier as old friends who hadn't bumped into each other on the train ride over caught up.

"So how was your journey?" Fred asked. "I suppose you saw Ginny off to Hagrid?" Though the twins often played aloof it was obvious they cared that Ginny was alright.

"Not just Ginny," Ron said with a significant look to his brothers. "Guess who we met on the train." And he told them.

"Whoa," George said, sitting back in surprise. "Loony Lovegood? I forgot she would be coming to Hogwarts this year."

"Yeah, and she's still as weird as ever," Ron bemoaned. "Kept talking about Wrackspurts or something. Plus she named her Pokémon Pandora. I mean, what sort of name is that?" Hermione looked like she was going to answer and explain the name's etymological roots, but she was beaten to the chase by Percy who gave his brother a stern expression.

"Show some respect," he snapped. "Do you honestly not know why she named her Pokémon that?" Ron shook his head but across the table Fred and George shared a look.

"Pandora was her mother's name," George explained, looking unusual serious.

"Was?" Hermione asked, her face paling slightly as she got the implication.

"She died a couple of years ago," George admitted.

"It was a horrible accident," Percy told them. "And from what dad told me Luna saw the whole thing happen. It's no wonder she chose to honour her mother's memory with her starter Pokémon." Percy turned a sharp look on his youngest brother. "So some common decency might be in order."

Ron looked chastised, looking down at his empty plate as if he'd like to just melt away into the ground. Hermione too looked rather despondent. Harry guessed she was thinking about how short she'd been with Luna.

"But Luna's always been weird," Fred said, trying to snap the gloomy mood that had settled. "Was she wearing her cork necklace? I bet she was."

But Fred's inquisitions were left unanswered as at that moment Professor Dumbledore, looking just as old and magnificent as he had when Harry had last seen him at the leaving feast at the end of the previous year, stood up and raised his hand for silence.

"Our new students will soon be with us," he announced to the hall. "If you could all take your seats and give a warm hand to our Sorting Xatu." He opened a Pokéball and Xatu, who Harry remembered vividly from his own sorting, appeared atop the old three legged stool.

The whole hall applauded loudly and Harry and the others quickly joined in. Evidently this was a tradition in Hogwarts that they had not been privy to before. In response Xatu bowed deeply to each of the four house tables before going still, staring unblinkingly ahead.

The entire hall went silent.

No more than a minute later the doors to the Great Hall opened and in strode Professor McGonagall, followed closely by a stream of well organised but equally terrified eleven year olds, Ginny easy to make out in the crowd due to her vivid red hair. Harry tried to give her a smile as she passed but he reckoned his gesture was probably missed owing to the twins taking the opportunity to give her two energetic thumbs up.

As she had the year before McGonagall stopped by the staff table, the gathered first years standing mere feet from where Harry and the others were sitting, and pulled out a register. And so the sorting began.

Harry found that it was a lot less stressful now that he was on the other side of the sorting ceremony. He remembered last year he had been absolutely terrified to stand before the intimidating Sorting Xatu and have his fate decided but now he came to realise that the process was actually rather efficient. No student was left standing before Xatu for more than a few seconds at a time.

Most of the names Professor McGonagall called meant absolutely nothing to Harry, with Ginny obviously at the very end of the list, and while he did applaud for all the new Gryffindor's, a small mousy boy by the name of Colin Creevey being the first, the first name that caught his interest was 'Lovegood, Luna'.

Unlike her peers Luna seemed entirely untroubled as she stood before the Sorting Xatu, meeting its eyes as though she were just having a casual chat between friends. Xatu took a little longer on Luna but made its decision anyway and bowed to the Ravenclaw table.

Harry applauded loudly, despite her not joining them in Gryffindor and the Weasleys, Hermione and Neville joined in. Luna's eyes found them as she walked towards her new house and a rare, genuine smile crossed her face before she sat down with her fellow Ravenclaw first years.

"Oy, budge up," Fred muttered to Colin Creevey as the sorting continued, nudging him gently along the bench. Colin gave a squeak and quickly shifted away, the fourth year boy obviously being rather intimidating for the new student to deal with. Fred seemed satisfied though as enough space had been made between them for someone to fit in. Obviously the seat was saved for someone important.

It took awhile but eventually, with only one last student left to be sorted, McGonagall called out 'Weasley, Ginny,' and Ginny stepped before the Sorting Xatu. The Xatu took a moment to contemplate and Harry felt every Weasley around him hold their breath, and then Xatu turned and nodded to the Gryffindor table.

The cheer that rose dwarfed that of any other as Fred, George, Harry, Ron, Hermione and even Percy rose to their feet to welcome Ginny to the Gryffindor table. Her face was as red as a tomato and she ducked her head in embarrassment as she walked but there was a huge smile on her face as Fred grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her down into the seat next to him.

"Congratulations," Harry said across the table as Fred thumped Ginny on the back and George and Ron grinned over at her.

"Very well done," Percy agreed, trying to keep his cool but failing somewhat as a big smile threatened to burst onto his face.

"Excellent! Excellent!" Professor Dumbledore called out, returning the Sorting Xatu to his Pokéball. It's job was done.

"Welcome!" Dumbledore said, beaming out at his students. "Welcome! Welcome! Welcome, to another year at Hogwarts. I have some announcements to make, but those can wait." He clapped his hands and the doors at the side of the hall opened and a stream of Pokémon, all loaded with wonderful smelling food, swarmed out. "Tuck in!"

"Knew you'd be in Gryffindor," Ron proclaimed loudly as he dug into his food with gusto, drawing destaining looks from Hermione.

"Confirmation you weren't adopted after all," George added.

"I mean the signs were good," Fred expanded. "Red hair, trouble making gene that most of us," he flicked a pea at Percy as he said this, "have. You just passed the final test of being a true Weasley."

Harry grinned as the siblings bantered back and forth, tucking into his food all the while. He'd missed the feasts at Hogwarts, just as he'd missed the castle itself and all the people in it. Well, he glanced up at Severus Snape at the staff table, nearly all the people in it.

Allowing the warmth and laughter of the hall settle into his very bones Harry couldn't help but feel like he was finally home. And, watching as Ginny fended off her twin brothers as they tried to steal her meal, he had a feeling that this was going to be a great year.

* * *

It had been two days since term had started and Ginny was struggling with finding her way around the large castle. She'd been due to meet up with Luna on the way down to breakfast but somewhere along the way Ginny had lost the normal route she took and now she was well and truly lost.

"Can I help you?" A voice asked.

Ginny jumped, she hadn't thought there was anybody in this corridor. The boy who had spoken was tall, clearly one of the older students in the school. He had neat black hair, aristocratic features and, Ginny noted nervously, an emerald green tie.

The boy looked down, following Ginny's gaze. "Oh," he said, almost as though he was surprised to see the Slytherin tie around his neck. "How silly of me, I forgot it was so easy to tell people's houses." He favoured Ginny with a smile. "Don't worry, I'm not here to mess with you. Personally I think the Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry has gone a bit far, it makes much more sense for us to only compete when it comes to the Quidditch matches and the House Cup." He smiled again. "My name's Tom. What's yours?"

"Ginny," Ginny answered, still slightly nervous. Tom smiled.

"You looked a little lost, Ginny," Tom said kindly. "You're a first year I take it? Not quite used to the layout of Hogwarts yet."

Ginny nodded. "I was meeting my friend," she explained. "But then I got lost and," she blushed. "Now I don't know where I am."

Tom gave her an understanding look. "It's happened to all of us," he assured her, again with a smile. "I'm afraid I can't point you in the direction of your friend but I can tell you how to get to the Great Hall."

"Would you? Please?" Ginny asked hopefully.

Tom chuckled, nodding his head. "Of course," he replied. "Just follow this corridor to the next flight of stairs. They'll lead you straight down to the Entrance Hall."

"Thank you," Ginny said gratefully.

"Think nothing of it," Tom told her. "Even if it wasn't just good manners it is my job as a prefect to help people out," he smiled. "If you ever need any help don't hesitate to find me."

"I will," Ginny smiled. "Thanks Tom," she said, hurrying off down the corridor and waving back to him.

"See you soon, Ginny," Tom replied with a smile, raising a hand in return. He waited until Ginny had turned the corner and disappeared from sight before the smile dropped smoothly from his face. He trained his gaze on the spot he'd last seen the girl, his eyes calculating, before a small breeze flitted through the corridor and his image blurred. His figure became less defined and darkened, becoming a shapeless ball of shadow as two red eyes appeared in its midst. One moment Lord Voldemort floated there in all his glory, the next he disappeared with a whisper.

The passing Ravenclaws didn't even notice a thing.

* * *

 **A/N:** And there's Chapter 3 of Harry Potter and the Secret Chamber. I just want to take a moment to clarify something from the reviews and that is that there will not be any Gen 7 Pokemon in my story since a lot of the planning for this was done before the release for Sun and Moon. I did mention this in a previous author's note in the last story so if you want to hear more about my reasoning you can go have a look at that.

Sorry for those looking forward to seeing some of their favourite Gen 7 Pokemon but I hope you'll continue to enjoy the story anyway. I'll see you all in the next chapter.


	4. The New Professor

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

"I can't believe McGonagall," Ron moaned, walking down the corridor with Harry on one side and Hermione on the other.

"I don't know what you are talking about, I thought that was a great lesson," Hermione said perkily. "I hadn't realised Dean's Makuhita had evolved."

"Yeah, but come on," Ron argued. "Homework, on the first day."

Their first Pokémon Physiology class had been an interesting one. It seemed that the common theme this year would be looking at how Pokémon changed after evolution, with Dean's Makuhita, which had evolved into a Hariyama over the summer, being used as an example for the class. And as Ron continued to complain, yes, they did receive homework.

But for now they put the idea of homework from their minds as a much more interesting prospect lay ahead of them.

The first Pokémon Battling class had been the cause of a lot of anticipation since the start of term feast. Many people seemed completely in awe of Gilderoy Lockhart, but there was a very noticeable body of students who weren't quite so complimentary.

"Ma Mam's been talkin' about him all summer," Seamus had told Harry as they were getting ready for bed that first night back in their dormitory. "I hope he's useless 'cause I'm going to hate him anyway."

Harry's own thoughts on Lockhart were harder to grasp. He obviously saw where people like Hermione, who sung Lockhart's praises, were coming from. Lockhart was cheerful, attractive, and had written a number of very popular books. On the other hand there was just something about him that didn't gel well with Harry. For one thing when he was announced as the new Battling Professor by Dumbledore at the feast he had been very enthusiastic in his greetings to the students, sweeping into ostentatious bows repeatedly, lapping up the applause before he eventually sat back down in Quirrel's old seat next to Professor Snape, who looked even more sour than usual.

The second thing that didn't bear favourably in Harry's mind was that he'd put so many of his own books on the curriculum. Harry had skimmed through them and it was abundantly clear that these weren't textbooks of any kind, leaving Harry to wonder what sort of man would promote his own product as an essential item for hundreds of students to buy.

"Can we hurry up," Hermione snapped. "If we don't get there soon we won't get good seats."

"That was the plan," Ron grumbled but he nevertheless sped up and within a few minutes the three of them were seated, along with the rest of their classmates, in the Pokémon Battling classroom, waiting for their teacher to appear.

The bell had already sounded and the students were starting to get antsy. Some of them, almost all of them female, just seemed to get more and more excited the longer they waited while others, most of the boys, were starting to get bored.

"Lucha!" A cry was heard throughout the room and everyone looked up. A Pokémon, with two arms, two legs and a set of wings stretching from its back, jumped down from high in the rafters. It soared, using its wings to glide towards them, before landing on top of a large stack of books on the teacher's desk, striking a pose.

Harry pulled out his Pokédex.

"Hawlucha, the Wrestling Pokémon. Although its body is small its proficient fighting skills enable it to keep up with big bruisers like Machamp and Hariyama."

"My partner, Hawlucha, everybody!" Lockhart had appeared in the doorway to his office, holding out an arm towards his Pokémon as the room burst into applause. Well, half the room at any rate.

"Hello, my young students," Lockhart said grandly, strolling into the room with a majestic sweep of his long jacket. "It is my great pleasure to be able to pass on my knowledge, gained from years of travel and adventure with my friend, Hawlucha, with you, the future of our nation."

Again, half the room applauded wildly.

"Thank you, thank you," Lockhart said with a smile. "It is my pleasure. Now I see here that you've all got copies of my books, well done. But before we delve into their chapters I'd like to start off with a little quiz, nothing to worry about," he assured them. "But seeing as I was not here to oversee your first year of education I'd like to get an idea of where you all are, in a manner of speaking. Though I'm afraid," he gave the class a roguish wink, "that my predecessor may not have prepared you quite as well as I would have."

There was a ripple of laughter around the class. Harry, meanwhile, frowned. Whilst Professor Quirrel hadn't been the best teacher in the world he hadn't been bad, Harry thought. What's more he would have expected Professor Lockhart to have a little more tact than to joke about his predecessor, considering Quirrel, last Harry heard, was still a permanent resident of St Mungo's Hospital, recovering from the terrible injuries he'd endured at the hands of Lord Voldemort.

Lockhart seemed oblivious to Harry's frown as he handed out the test papers, giving him a wink as he passed, before returning to the front of the class.

"You have thirty minutes to answer as many of these questions as you can," Lockhart told them. "Let the time start," he clapped his hands together. "Now."

Feeling as though this was going to be a long lesson Harry turned over his test paper and read the first question:

 _1\. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favourite colour?_

He blinked. He couldn't have read that right. He looked at the next question.

 _2\. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?_

 _3\. What, in your opinion, is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date?_

Harry looked up, sure this must be some sort of joke. But Lockhart wasn't paying them any attention, instead rocking back in his desk chair and watching his Hawlucha, who was striking poses in the mirror.

Harry looked to his friends beside him. Ron, like Harry, was in disbelief. Harry watched as he read the questions, mouthing the words to himself with an almost pained expression on his face. On the other hand Hermione was scribbling away as though this were any other test, as Harry watched turning over the paper to start on the questions on the back.

Harry frowned. Maybe the questions themselves were tests. He looked up at Lockhart again. The man was dressed in a light blue coat with a navy blue open collared shirt underneath. His trousers, too, seemed to be a shade of blue. Harry shrugged and turned back to the first question, writing down his answer, 'blue'.

It was tough going for Harry, trying to work out hidden meanings in the questions but eventually time was up and Professor Lockhart walked up and down the aisles, collecting up the test papers before returning to his desk and skimming through them.

"Mhmm," he said, not looking happy. "As I suspected, there's a lot I need to teach you," he told them, nodding his head wisely. "Oh yes. If you had read my books this test wouldn't have been very difficult. After all, I quite clearly explain in Year with Yveltal that my favourite colour is lilac, although hot pink is always a look I'm happy to pull off." Seamus sniggered. Harry had no doubts just who had suggested that particular answer.

"Also I'm afraid to say that not many of you seem to remember that my ideal birthday gift would be peace and harmony between people and Pokémon," Lockhart sighed. "I have a whole chapter devoted to this concept in Wanderings with Weezing, you should look it up. Although…" Professor Lockhart stopped on one of the papers and gave it a closer look. "It seems we do have one person who has read the assigned material." He looked up. "Stand up please Miss Hermione Granger."

Harry and Ron looked at her in astonishment as Hermione, blushing furiously, rose to her feet.

"Miss Granger, full marks," Lockhart said with a beaming smile. "And take ten points for Gryffindor too. Very well done." Hermione was practically glowing as she sat back down in her seat. Ron glowered.

"Now," Lockhart said, smacking his hands together dramatically. "We haven't got much time left but I think you could all use a little demonstration to wet your appetite, hm," he smiled at the class. "I'm going to need a volunteer."

As soon as he said this every single girl in the class raised their hand in the air eagerly. It was almost as though the room was filled with Hermiones. Gilderoy Lockhart took his time looking through the sea of hands before he spotted Harry and Harry immediately felt a sense of foreboding.

"What about you?" Lockhart said, gesturing to where Harry sat. "Mr …"

Harry kept silent for a moment before he realised he'd have to answer eventually. "Potter," he said dully. He could see where this was going. Lockhart certainly didn't pick Harry at random, not when he hadn't even volunteered in the first place.

"Excellent, now Mr Potter, why don't you join me up here," Professor Lockhart said jovially, waving him up to the front of the class. Harry briefly thought about simply refusing, demanding he pick someone else. But, with a sigh, he stood up and walked up the aisle to where Lockhart was standing.

"Excellent, excellent," Lockhart said, turning to face the class. "Now I thought it would be a good idea for you to witness a real Pokémon battle before I set you on your way," he told them, many of the students looking excited by the prospect.

"Now, don't worry, Harry," Professor Lockhart said, clearly forgetting that Harry hadn't told him his first name. "Don't be scared, I won't be going full on against you," he chuckled. "That would just be unfair." Harry agreed. He was only twelve.

"Now Harry, choose your Pokémon," Lockhart said dramatically, standing across the room in what seemed to be some sort of dramatic battle stance. Harry made a quick choice and decided on Charmander. The small fire type appeared before him.

"A fire type, interesting choice," Lockhart said. "At a bit of a disadvantage against a fighting type like my Hawlucha." Hawlucha jumped forward, striking a pose similar to his trainer as he prepared for battle. "Harry, I'll allow you the first move."

"Okay. Charmander, use Ember!" Charmander spit out a stream of burning embers at Hawlucha who leapt into the air, dodging all of them and gliding above his opponent.

"Hawlucha, use your Flying Press attack," Lockhart said grandly. Hawlucha gave a battle cry and started to glow red as he fell down from the sky towards Charmander.

"Charmander, use Smokescreen!" Charmander let out a billow of smoke, aiming straight at Hawlucha. The two Pokémon disappeared from sight for a moment and then there was a huge thumping sound of something hitting the floor hard. As the smoke floated up to the ceiling and dispersed it revealed Hawlucha lying flat on his stomach, having missed Charmander completely and gone straight into the ground.

"Woo!" Ron shouted, clapping loudly with Dean and Seamus, and even Neville, joining in. Harry grinned.

"Now Charmander, use Flamethrower!" Charmander took in a deep breath, the flame on his tail growing stronger, before belching out a stream of fire towards his opponent. The attack, which Harry and Charmander had worked on a lot over the summer with Ron's Growlithe, engulfed Hawlucha, leaving the Pokémon in a heap, blackened by the flames.

The bell went.

"Well, looks like we're out of time," Lockhart said quickly, recalling his Hawlucha. "What do you say we call that a draw, eh Harry? Excellent." And he hurried out of the room, leaving Harry standing alone in front of the class.

"Can you believe him?" Ron growled, casting a glare at the door to Lockhart's office as the students packed up their bags, stuffing each of the many Lockhart books in with the much more conservative Physiology text.

"Great battle, Harry," Dean said as he passed, Seamus giving him a thump on the back as the two of them headed for the door. Harry grinned.

"I admit I did enjoy watching Charmander cream the guy," Ron muttered, slightly savagely but with a smile. "Great trainer my arse."

"He was going easy on him," Hermione pointed out. She hadn't spoken since the lesson had finished. "I'm sure he just didn't expect Harry to be so strong."

"Speak for yourself, Granger," Draco Malfoy drawled as he passed. "Potter may be a fool but even he is better than that hack." He walked away.

Harry blinked. "Did Malfoy just compliment me?" he asked as Malfoy, flanked by Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, left the class room.

"See," Ron turned to Hermione. "Even Malfoy agrees. Face it Hermione, Lockhart is just a pretty boy who doesn't know anything."

"I don't believe it," Hermione said staunchly. "Dumbledore hired him, and that should be good enough for everyone." She would not be swayed.

The rest of their classes went much as Harry would have expected them to go. Flitwick's lessons remained highly enjoyable, Sprouts a lot of hard, yet satisfying, work, Binns a good excuse to take a nap, and Snape's, the one class above all others Harry wished he could just drop. Before they knew it their first week at Hogwarts was already over and they were well back in the swing of things.


	5. Malfoy's Luck

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

"Hari!"

Harry blinked blearily as he was roused from his sleep. It was still dark in the dormitory, Harry had to wonder just why he was awake so early. Beside him Charmander snored on.

"Hari! Hari-Yama!" The noise from outside the confines of his bed drew his sleep addled attention and he sat up stiffly, reaching out to find his glasses in the dark.

"Waz goin' on?" Dean mumbled from across the room. A light flickered on.

"Hari! Hariyama Hari!" Hariyama was in quite a state and his frequent cries were waking up the rest of the dormitory's inhabitants. Harry pulled back the curtain of his four poster bed and squinted his eyes against the light.

"Wood?" Oliver Wood, sixth year Gryffindor student and Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, was standing by the doorway, looking rather concerned as Dean's Hariyama stood before him, battle ready.

"Wood? What are you doing here?" Harry groaned. He checked his alarm clock. "It's five thirty in the morning."

"Excellent time to make a start on Quidditch practice," Wood said, his attitude no nonsense.

"Now?" Harry asked wearily. At this point Seamus had appeared from behind his hangings.

"Dammit man, this is Saturday morning," Seamus moaned. "I was looking forward to a lie in but noooo …"

Wood ignored him. "Training now," he said. "I see Fletchinder is ready." Fletchinder had chosen this moment to lift his head out from under his wing. "Be downstairs in the common room in five minutes." And with that he left the room.

"Thanks a bunch, Harry," Seamus said bitterly, climbing back into his bed. Harry sighed.

Nevertheless, five minutes later he was up, dressed, and slightly more awake as he walked down the staircase that led to the boys dormitories and wandered into the common room.

"About time," Wood said, tapping his foot agitatedly against the ground and checking his watch repeatedly. "Now if only those blasted twins would hurry up." Harry ignored him and instead approached the three Chasers, each looking much the same as he was.

"Morning," he greeted tiredly.

"Is it," Angelina Johnson snapped. "I hadn't noticed." Like Seamus, Angelina was clear not a morning person. Although it was doubtful anyone wouldn't be at least a bit peeved off to be woken up quite this early.

"Wood said he's got a big plan," Alicia Spinnet told Harry tiredly. The third Chaser, Katie Bell, had drifted off against the arm of her chair.

"I do, and we would be working on it right now if those damned Weasleys would just hurry up," Wood growled.

"We're here Oliver," Fred said tiredly, appearing at that moment at the foot of the staircase, George following. "We just don't get why we need to be up at such an ungodly hour. None of the other house teams will have started yet."

"Exactly," Wood said, a mad glint in his eye. "This way we'll have the drop on them. We should have won the Quidditch Cup last year but it didn't happen. This year we're going to do it differently. We're going to stay one step ahead of the other houses and we're going to lead from the front from this point forward, and if what it takes is a few early mornings then so be it."

While Harry could admire Wood's dedication he did think they could lead from the front without having to get up at ridiculous times in the morning. As far as he was aware none of the other teams were even thinking about the Quidditch season yet but Wood was adamant, striding through the common room door, leaving his team to trail behind him, George discretely poking Katie awake as he passed.

Down through the empty castle and out through the great oak front doors they travelled, to a sight of the grounds barely lit by the first rays of the morning sunrise. Across the lawn to the Quidditch field and into the changing rooms they went before Wood brought them to a stop, standing next to an already assembled white board.

"Just how early did you get up this morning?" Fred asked incredulously.

"About three," Wood replied before he immediately started talking tactics.

It was all well and good, Harry thought, having a deep base of tactics and strategies from which to pull from, but in Wood's case he may have found an exception. For one thing as a Seeker Harry's job was really rather straight forward, catch the Snitch or die trying. For another it didn't appear as though any of the other players, be them Chasers or Beaters, were able to follow along with what Wood was saying. Katie had quickly fallen asleep again on George's shoulder, who in turn had taken to fiddling with a button on his jeans. Alicia was staring at Wood with blank eyes, her brain clearly not having had time to wake up yet, and Fred and Angelina had got themselves caught up in a staring contest, which at least had the benefit of keeping them both awake.

"Alright, that's everything I've thought of over the summer," Wood announced, surprising Harry out of his stupor. "Any questions?"

From a quick glance around the room it became clear that nobody had been paying attention.

"Listen you lot," he growled. "I know you're good, and I know we should have won that last Quidditch cup if Harry hadn't been in the Hospital Wing." Harry felt the accusatory tone was a bit unwarranted since he had ended up in the Hospital Wing stopping Voldemort from regaining power. "But the other teams are good too and they're gunning for us now. We can't get by with the same old tricks, we've got to improve, we've got to get better, and that starts here and now. Now I want to know you lot are with me, or am I just wasting my breath."

"We're with you, Oliver," Angelina said immediately.

"Yeah," Fred agreed. "We want to win this too you know."

"Just don't wake us up so early in the future," George advised. "You know we weren't listening to a word you were saying." Wood seemed to swell up, before he let out a breath and deflated.

"Fine," he said. "No more five thirty starts. Now, let's get out there and practice. We're playing first this year so we don't have much time to shake off the summer rust."

The team roused themselves and walked out onto the pitch with more energy than they'd shown all morning, releasing their Pokémon onto the field.

"You were saying," Fred said pointedly to Wood. Wood's Snorlax, having been released from his Pokéball, was still fast asleep.

"We've talked about this," Wood shouted at his Pokémon, storming over to the gigantic beast. "You can rest outside the pitch but when you're here you work for it." Snorlax remained blissfully unaware, absently scratching his belly as he slept on. Wood sighed in defeat.

"Ollie," Alicia said suddenly, grabbing the boys attention. "We've got company." As Oliver turned to look in the direction Alicia was gesturing Harry did too. What he saw made his jaw drop.

The Slytherin team, unmistakable in their emerald green kit, were walking towards them from across the pitch. But what was more eye catching was the Pokémon that walked with them. Five Vigoroth, all looking mean and fighting fit, followed after their trainers, with one, enormous, Slaking walking behind them. As Slaking grew closer the ground shook with every step.

"Flint!" Wood shouted, enraged. "What on earth do you think you're doing?! This is our practice time, I've booked the pitch specifically for Gryffindor!"

They were close enough now that they didn't need to yell, and Harry noted with unease that Marcus Flint, captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team and larger than most adults, was smirking.

"Plenty of room for all of us," he said. The humongous Slaking took another step forward, shaking the ground. But Wood was not to be deterred.

"But I booked the pitch!" he shouted, looking absolutely furious that Flint would dare interrupt his practice time.

"But I've got a specially signed note here from Professor Snape," Flint smirked back, holding out the single sheet of paper to Wood. Still shaking angrily Wood snatched it away and read. While he did so the rest of the team waited anxiously, wondering just what the Slytherins were up to. Their Pokémon, all five Vigoroth, were leering at their Gryffindor counterparts who, while just as big, were nowhere near as intimidating.

"I, Professor S Snape," Wood eventually read aloud for the benefit of his team. "Do hereby give the Slytherin team permission to practise today on the Quidditch pitch owing to the need to train their new Seeker." He looked up.

"What a lazy excuse," he retorted. "We didn't get any preferential treatment to train Harry and he still beat you."

"Ah, but that was the old Slytherin," Flint said with a smirk. "Things are much different now," he gestured to the standing Vigoroth, still staring down their opponents. "All thanks to our newest team member." The last member of the Slytherin Quidditch team stepped forward, having been hidden behind his much larger teammates, and smirked.

It was Draco Malfoy, and on his shoulder sat a Murkrow.

"Father always did think it was unfair that the Gryffindor team were able to have McGonagall purchase a Pokémon for their new player," Malfoy commented dryly, brushing an imaginary speck of dust off his brand spanking new Quidditch uniform. "But then he realised that if Potter was allowed Fletchinder then there could be no rule against him making a donation to the Slytherin team." He smirked, his eyes glinting maliciously as they settled on Harry.

"So you see," Flint said with an airy tone, yanking his permission slip back from Wood's slack grip. "We'll be needing the pitch for today. I'd advise you to get back to the castle, breakfast will be over soon." And, laughing, the Slytherin Quidditch team walked over to the other end of the pitch.

"Ollie?" Alicia Spinnet asked quietly, looking to her captain. "What should we do?"

Oliver seemed to have some sort of internal battle as the Gryffindor team waited for a decision, before he sighed in defeat. His shoulders sagged.

"Let's get back to the castle," he said heavily. "I'll go check the schedule, see if we can get another practice slipped in tomorrow." He returned his Snorlax, who still hadn't woken up, and turned, trudging despondently back towards the castle. The rest of the team looked at each other, then followed. As he turned to leave Harry caught a glimpse of Malfoy. He was watching them, a triumphant gleam in his eye, and the fire in Harry burned fierce. He would beat Malfoy, no matter what it took.

The walk back up to the castle was a quiet one. Wood was taking the lead, walking so slowly that it almost seemed as though he weren't moving at all. Yet none of his teammates dared to walk past him, truthfully a bit lost without his drive to go forwards.

They were met halfway there by Ron and Hermione.

"Finished practise already," Ron said, looking slightly disappointed, but the expressions he received from the Gryffindor team told him otherwise. Quietly Harry pulled Ron and Hermione to the side and explained to them what had happened.

"No way, that's not fair," Ron complained immediately. "He can't just buy his way into the team. Surely Dumbledore's got to put a stop to this."

Hermione, on the other hand, understood otherwise.

"He can't," she said, a pained look on her face. "If Mr Malfoy freely gave those Pokémon to the Slytherin team he can't ban them because then they'd point out that Harry got Fletchinder from Professor McGonagall and he'd be banned too."

Ron paled.

"What I don't get is why Malfoy has a Murkrow," Harry said, bringing up a point that had been bugging him since the encounter on the Quidditch pitch. Naturally Hermione had the answer.

"It's Murkrow's ability, Super Luck," she explained. "It heightens the chances that Murkrow's attacks will land a critical hit. It makes each and every move Murkrow makes potentially deadly." Harry frowned.

"I'm not worried," Ron said loudly. "I don't care about 'Super Luck' or anything, Fletchinder will fly rings that Murkrow." Fletchinder gave a cry of agreement, causing Harry to smile.

"I wonder why Malfoy didn't mention this when we met him at Flourish and Blotts," Harry commented.

"Maybe he didn't know he was on the team until after you saw him," Hermione suggested.

"Or maybe he just likes to brag about one thing at a time," Ron countered. "I mean, otherwise he'd run out of material."

Either way Harry knew that suddenly there was a new favourite for the Quidditch cup and, no matter how unfair it seemed to the Gryffindor team, Slytherin were now the team to beat. Harry could only hope that they were ready, and that their many hours of training would be enough to handle Vigoroth's sheer physicality, for the first game of the season was to take place a week after halloween. And it would be Gryffindor versus Slytherin.


	6. The Writing On The Wall

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

The first month of Hogwarts passed by and, to Harry's relief, things went on as normal.

Wood, having talked to Professor McGonagall about switching training times, had come back from the meeting with renewed purpose. What exactly McGonagall had said to him was never known but whatever it was seemed to have ignited a fire in the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain and it spread throughout the whole team.

"Slytherin may try to buy themselves the title," Wood said passionately after one particularly tough practice session. "But they don't have the teamwork and togetherness we have. They are new to their Pokémon, they can't work together, and we'll smash them."

Unfortunately Wood's words didn't seem to be holding true. Fred and George, though on the outside completely ready to take whatever Slytherin could throw at them, had spied more than a few times on the Slytherin team's practices, and their reports weren't promising.

It seemed that the Vigoroth were just as fast, agile and aggressive as they had looked and they all seemed to be in perfect sync with each other, suggesting that they had all been bred together as a team. On top of all that Slaking was so large that there was only ever one goalpost left uncovered at any one moment, and Slaking was a lot quicker than he looked.

It was generally agreed that the weak point in the team was Malfoy. Murkrow wasn't the best flier in the world, and didn't bear much physical strength either. Still, Hermione's warning still rang in Harry's mind every time he thought such thoughts. It would only take one hit from Murkrow, one hit where its super luck ability kicks in, for Fletchinder to be in big trouble. He couldn't let his guard down.

Classes, too, had settled into a routine. For Physiology, Pokémon Stats, Herbology, Potions and History this was very similar to the way things had been run the year before. Each of the Professors had a well structured curriculum and went through it with the ease of having done so many times before, even Binns, although his teaching style still left a lot to be desired. The exception, of course, was Professor Lockhart.

After the embarrassment of being defeated by a second year student Gilderoy Lockhart had avoided any more demonstrations for the class. Instead each lesson he would call on a student, seemingly at random, to read out a passage from one of his books for the class. It was, Harry thought, a huge waste of time, especially for Hermione who had already read all of the books. But she steadfastly refused to criticise him.

"Just because I have done the reading doesn't mean anyone else has," she told him. "We can all learn from his experience dealing with wild Pokémon, these stories are the perfect way to teach people and keep them entertained at the same time."

Harry refrained from arguing this point - he for one found Lockhart's classes to be rather dull - because he knew that nothing he could say would convince Hermione that Professor Lockhart wasn't the man she made him out to be. Ron had no such reservations which led to the two often falling out when leaving a Pokémon Battling class, neither of them believing themselves to be in the wrong.

On one lesson, just a few days before halloween, Harry found his opinion of Lockhart changed. The lesson itself was very much like any other. Hannah Abbott of Hufflepuff read a chapter of Voyages with Venusaur before Neville had to do an impression of a chinaman to act out a scene from Holidays with Hawlucha. It was only after the bell went and an embarrassed Neville returned to his seat that things changed.

"Mr Potter, if you could stay behind for a moment," Lockhart said over the din of the rest of the class leaving. Harry and Ron shared a glance, wondering what could be about to happen, but nevertheless the rest of the class soon left and Harry, his bag fully packed, approached Lockhart's desk.

"You wanted to see me, Professor?" Harry asked politely.

"Yes, Harry, yes," Lockhart said, giving him a wide smile. "I was just thinking… I've heard your name before. And then it hit me. You are James and Lily's boy."

Harry blinked. "You knew my mum and dad?" he asked, surprised.

Lockhart nodded. "We fought alongside each other," he said heroically. "Fighting off the evil of You-know-who. But unfortunately I was on an urgent mission out of the country when they were attacked." He wiped a tear from his eye. "If only I had been there I could have saved them, we could have taken down You-know-who together."

Harry was stunned by what he was hearing. Could Lockhart, who until now he'd thought of as more of a phoney, possibly have been friends with his parents.

"I imagine this must be a hard time of year for you," Lockhart said with a sniff. "As it is for me." He dabbed a handkerchief at his eyes, taking a moment to collect himself, before he pulled himself up straight.

"I mention this, of course, because there is a gala being held at the Ministry on Halloween," Lockhart said, his voice losing it's emotional edge. "And I thought it would be a good idea to invite you along with me. What do you say, Harry?" He beamed.

Harry's blood ran cold. He saw the truth. Lockhart, no matter what he said to the contrary, was not a hero or a defender of peace. He was a snake, and he'd just tried to manipulate Harry to boost his own self inflated ego.

"I think I'd much rather go to the Hogwarts Halloween feast," Harry said quietly. He could feel his anger bubbling under the surface but he fought to keep his face straight and his voice even. It would not do to blow up at a teacher, no matter how terrible he was.

"Are you sure Harry? It would be great publicity," Lockhart tried to persuade him, but Harry's mind was already made up.

"No, I'll be staying at Hogwarts," he said shortly. "I think I'm coming down with something so I don't think I'll be well enough to go anyway." It wasn't exactly a lie, though the sick feeling Harry had right now had nothing to do with illness.

"Aw well," Lockhart said, looking awfully disappointed. "If you change your mind you know where to find me. But I warn you Harry, offers like this don't come around very often."

Harry said nothing to that. Instead he simply nodded and turned to leave, not glancing back as he left the battling classroom behind him.

"You okay mate?" Ron asked worriedly. He and Hermione had been standing outside the classroom door, evidently waiting for him.

"I'm fine," Harry said shortly. Ron and Hermione shared a look.

"What did Professor Lockhart want with you?" Hermione asked tentatively. A sick look passed across Harry's face and he shook his head.

"I don't want to talk about it," he told her and he walked off down the corridor.

He was only vaguely aware of Ron and Hermione hurrying after him, completely lost in his own thoughts. Had any of what Lockhart had told him been true. If it was the case that his parents were friends with this man then what did that say about his parents, what people were they.

* * *

Fortunately Harry did not come face to face with Lockhart in the few days that came before Halloween, although he had spotted him a couple of times in the corridors trying to reach him. Every time Harry would slip down one of the many hidden passages in Hogwarts castle to lose him, with Ron more than happy to misdirect the man to protect his best friend.

Hermione called his behaviour childish, but she didn't know what Lockhart had said to him.

Nevertheless Halloween came and Harry was finally able to relax somewhat, secure in the knowledge that Lockhart had left for London long ago, Ron telling him he'd come looking for Harry one final time before leaving.

"I can't wait for the feast," Ron said as they began the walk down from the Gryffindor Common Room to the Great Hall, his mouth watering at the thought.

"Honestly Ron, you've already said this a million times," Hermione reminded him. It was true, Ron had brought up the topic of the Halloween feast at every opportunity during the week leading up to the event. Harry understood why. The Halloween feast was amazing. Unfortunately last year it was punctuated by a swarm of Ursaring invading the castle but this year, Harry hoped, nothing so dramatic would happen.

"Just think of all the pies," Ron said to Harry, ignoring Hermione's criticism. "And the steak. I can almost taste it already." He let out a long sigh as, in his imagination, he ate this meal he had described, licking his lips in anticipation.

"Hey, what's that?"

Ron was brought out of his revelry by the sight of something in the corridor ahead. Shifting so that Ron was no longer standing in his way, Harry looked too.

"Wow," Hermione said breathlessly. Harry had to agree.

The Pokémon that stood before them was striking. With pure white fur the Pokémon stood no larger than an average sized dog, but its presence was much greater. It was watching them with a pair of small red eyes and from out of its head grew a curved horn.

"It's an Absol," Hermione said, her voice low so as to avoid startling the Pokémon. Absol didn't look like it would bolt though. Instead it was staring steadily at the three of them and Harry suddenly had the thought, why was Absol there?

He put his hand into his pocket to grab his Pokédex but at the same moment Absol jumped into action, springing up off the ground and scampering away with barely a whisper down the corridor and out of sight.

"Wait!" Ron shouted, running after it, Harry and Hermione close behind him. However, when they turned the corner Absol was gone.

"Wow, that thing can move," Ron commented, turning on the spot to face the other way as though suspecting Absol had somehow sneaked past him.

"I'm surprised to see an Absol in the castle," Hermione said. "They're supposed to be really rare and live in mountain ranges. People hardly ever get a chance to see them."

"Do you reckon it belongs to someone?" Harry suggested. The sudden appearance of the reclusive Pokémon in the castle seemed to suggest so.

Hermione bit her lip. "Maybe," she said. "But I don't see anyone around." It was true, despite the fact that many people were probably heading down to the Great Hall right this moment there was no one in this corridor save for themselves.

"We should get down to the Great Hall," Harry said. "We don't want to miss the start of the feast." Ron heartily agreed with this and so, putting Absol temporarily out of mind, the trio made the rest of the trip down to the Great Hall.

The Great Hall was magnificent. Just like last year the normal lights had been replaced by Litwick, Lampent and Chandelure, and Harry noticed this time there seemed to be a whole host of other ghost type Pokémon floating around the vast hall.

Harry, Ron and Hermione took their place at the Gryffindor table, arriving just in time for the starting course to be sent out. As expected the food was magnificent and for Harry all thoughts of Absol or Lockhart were firmly driven from his mind as he ate and talked and laughed. That was until Percy started talking.

"I heard Lockhart invited you to the Ministry Gala," Percy commented as he reached for some peas.

"Ministry Gala?" Hermione asked, interested. Percy nodded.

"Every year the Ministry holds a special event on Halloween to commemorate those who died in the war," Percy told them. "I would have thought that would have been something you'd be interested in." He looked at Harry.

Harry shifted uncomfortably. "I didn't want to go with Lockhart," Harry admitted, already anticipating the response to what he acknowledged to be a weak excuse.

"Harry," Hermione chided, looking at him in exasperation. "You can't just let your personal feelings about Professor Lockhart cloud your judgement. Going to the Ministry Gala was a really big opportunity for you."

"To do what?" Harry asked, annoyed.

"Ministry functions are a great way to make connections," Percy said importantly. "It's good to know people in the Ministry, especially if you hope to get a job there when you graduate."

"Well, I don't care about that," Harry snapped. His good humour had evaporated. "I'm only twelve years old and I do not want to be spending Halloween being paraded around the Ministry by a man who cares so much about his own publicity that he'd lie to me about knowing my parents."

He stood up, throwing his napkin down onto his plate.

"I'm going to bed," he said simply. He had had enough.

"Harry, mate!" Ron called but Harry ignored him, storming out of the hall without a care for who might have seen him. He was so angry, angry at Percy for suggesting he should have gone, angry at Hermione for continually sticking up for Lockhart, but most of all he was angry at Lockhart, the man who had promised what Harry had always wanted only to reveal his true colours.

"Harry, wait!" Hermione's cry perforated his internal monologue and he turned to see her and Ron hurrying after him. "Harry, I'm sorry."

And with those words Harry felt all the anger and resentment fade away. He felt exhausted, as though he'd been through a marathon rather than an emotional rollercoaster like the last few days had put him through.

"I just wanted to get to know them," he told her, his voice cracked. "Is that too much to ask?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, Harry, it's not," she told him. "And it'll happen."

"When?" Harry asked. He could feel the tears in his eyes now, surprising him. He hadn't realised just how much of a burden the last few days had been on him.

"Oh, Harry," Hermione said softly. She stepped forward and wrapped him in a hug and Harry, not knowing what to do or how to respond, collapsed against her. And though he tried to stem the flow of tears he knew it was a hopeless endeavour, and so he hid his face in Hermione's bushy hair.

Sometime later, Harry felt as if he had gained control of himself again.

"Sorry," he muttered, pulling away from Hermione and hastily wiping at his eyes to hide any remnants of his tears.

Hermione blushed. "I'm glad to help," she told him simply. Ron clapped him on the shoulder, giving him a silent, but no less profound show of support.

Feeling too overcome to address what had just happened Harry dug around for something to talk about.

"Eh, where are we?" he asked. Indeed, in his highly emotional state he had not paid any attention to where his feet were taking him.

"Somewhere on the second floor," Hermione told him. "We don't usually go around here but I've heard that this is the quickest way to get to the Great Hall from the Ravenclaw Common Room."

"Okay," Ron said. "So how do we get back to Gryffindor Tower from here?" he asked, looking around as though expecting some sort of sign to point him in the right direction.

"I guess we'll have to retrace our steps," Hermione supposed, turning back the way they came. But as she did so Harry heard a noise.

"Wait," he whispered, holding up a hand for silence. Hermione and Ron immediately stilled. "Do you hear that?" They all listened carefully.

"I heard it," Ron said suddenly. "It sounded like… I don't know, a cat?" Harry shrugged.

"What do you think we should do?" Hermione whispered.

"Do you think it might be Absol?" Ron suggested.

Harry shrugged. "Let's take a look," he said and together they slowly and carefully crept down the corridor. As they did so the sound started to get louder, suggesting they were going the right way, and, as Ron had noted, it did sound very much like a cat. Harry came to a corner and, heart thumping, stepped out.

"Mrs Norris," he breathed in surprise.

It was no surprise that they had thought the noise was coming from a cat. Mrs Norris, Argus Filch's Glameow, while normally the scourge of Hogwarts, was lying on the floor, whimpering pathetically.

"What's going on?" Ron asked as they hurriedly approached, Harry and Hermione dropping to their knees to examine Mrs Norris more closely.

"She's been poisoned," Hermione said. Harry had to agree. He'd seen the effects poison could have on a Pokémon and it was quite clear that Mrs Norris was suffering. A chilling thought crossed his mind.

"You don't think it's…" but he trailed off as he felt Ron tapping on his shoulder.

"Harry," Ron's voice was very weak and looking up Harry saw that his face was deathly pale, staring straight ahead. "Harry, look." And Harry did.

Written on the wall before them, in red ink that Harry came to realise with a twist in his stomach as blood, were several foot high words, giving them a chilling message.

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED

ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE

Harry gulped.

"It is him, isn't it?" he said, his voice wavering. "Voldemort."

At that moment a thunderous noise shook the castle. The feast had just ended and within moments Harry, Ron and Hermione found themselves standing alone in the middle of a large portion of the school.


	7. Battle Of The Birds

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

"Harry. Ron. What's going on?" Percy stepped forward from the crowd and then stopped, his eyes wide as they took in the prone form of Mrs Norris and then the forbidding writing on the wall.

"Someone get Professor Dumbledore," he said tersely. No one moved. "Now!" he snapped. A girl around Percy's age, wearing a blue Ravenclaw tie, hurried through the crowd and back the way they'd just come.

No one moved as they waited for Professor Dumbledore. It almost seemed as though no one was willing to even breath. The silence was broken by the sound of hurried footsteps as the Ravenclaw girl returned, leading a line of worried looking professors and, most importantly of all, Dumbledore.

"No," a strangled cry came from Argus Filch as he rushed forward, pushing Harry, Ron and Hermione out of the way as he cradled the now silent Mrs Norris in his arms.

"Argus," Dumbledore said softly. He kneeled down across from the distraught man. "Argus, I need you to let go," he said, his voice calm and gentle. "We can not hope to treat Mrs Norris unless we are able to properly examine her. I know this is tough, but I beg you to let go."

Harry had never before felt pity for Argus Filch until that moment as he cradled his precious partner in his arms and, heart wrenchingly, lay her gently on the floor. Madam Pomfrey quickly hurried over and started checking on the Glameow.

"What are you all staring at?" Filch snapped suddenly, glowering out at the crowd that had not moved since the incident. "Get lost the lot of ya."

"All students should return to their common rooms," Dumbledore said firmly. "Your heads of house will escort you." Dumbledore met Harry's eyes and, without having to be told, Harry knew that he, Ron and Hermione were to stay.

"How is she?" Filch asked emotionally after some time. Madam Pomfrey had been examining Mrs Norris in near silence for quite a while and her face, a blank professional mask, gave no indication of what she thought. Madam Pomfrey let out a sigh.

"She'll live," she said eventually. "But the road to recovery won't be easy. Had she not been found straight away she'd be in dire straights but fortunately…" she let out a sigh. "We'll need to move her to the Hospital Wing," she announced.

"I'll do it," Filch said and he gently gathered his Pokémon up in his arms, taking more care than Harry thought a man like Filch could as he followed Madam Pomfrey away from the scene, leaving only Dumbledore, Harry, Ron and Hermione behind.

Dumbledore sighed. "A terrible occasion," he admitted tiredly, removing his glasses and wiping them clean with his beard. "Terrible." He replaced his spectacles. "Now, Harry, I understand that it was you three who found Mrs Norris?"

Harry nodded.

"May I ask what you were doing out here? This isn't a route back to the Gryffindor Common Room." Dumbledore's tone wasn't accusatory. Still, Harry hesitated to answer.

"I, uh, left the feast early," he admitted awkwardly.

"Yes," Dumbledore agreed. "I saw that." Harry guessed his exit wasn't as discrete as he would have liked it to be.

"Well, uh, I was a bit emotional and I wasn't really looking where I was going and I found myself here," he explained. "I heard Mrs Norris from the other corridor and that's when we found her."

Dumbledore nodded. "And you saw no sign of who might have perpetrated this crime?"

"No," Harry shook his head. "There was no one here when we got here." He hesitated. "But Professor, could it be… I mean, the poisoning…"

"I do not believe this was Voldemort," Dumbledore said, correctly guessing what Harry had been trying to say. "No, the poisoning did not come about in the same way as how you described Voldemort approached his victims." Dumbledore stroked his beard thoughtfully. "I believe the perpetrator we're looking for is a poison type Pokémon, certainly, with fangs."

"Fangs, sir?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore nodded. "Mrs Norris had physical wounds, punctures that are consistent with large teeth of some sort," Dumbledore told him. "Had it been Voldemort there likely would have been no outward sign of physical damage. That is not to say that Voldemort wasn't involved, however," Dumbledore warned him.

"I will escort you back to your common room," he said eventually. "I advise you be careful over the next few days. It wouldn't be a good idea to travel anywhere alone until the person responsible for this is caught."

Dumbledore did as he promised he would, escorting Harry, Ron and Hermione up to the Gryffindor Common Room. When he got there he made a small announcement to tell them that Mrs Norris would recover and bid them goodnight, leaving Harry, Ron and Hermione the focus of the attention.

No one approached them though, no one asked what had happened. There almost seemed an accusatory tone to their looks as they kept their eye on them.

It was an uncomfortable evening for the trio, and they each decided to head up to their dormitories far earlier than usual. What the rest of Gryffindor house thought, they could only guess, but suddenly the three of them felt very alone.

* * *

Over the coming week the sudden attitude change of Gryffindor house continued, and was reflected by the rest of the student body. Not much was known about what had happened to Mrs Norris on Halloween but one of the few facts that had come out was that Harry, Ron and Hermione had been the first ones there. From that point on it was all unfounded rumours and wild conjecture.

For more than once in his time at Hogwarts Harry was monumentally grateful for his time spent on the Quidditch field. Gryffindor played Slytherin exactly one week after Halloween and Oliver Wood, acting like a man possessed, had his team training whenever he could get the pitch booked.

At practice Harry was no longer the outcast of the school. Fred and George, who couldn't stay serious if you paid them, thought the idea that Harry could have anything to do with the attack on Mrs Norris was ludicrous, and spent most of the time comically cowering away from Harry in fear or following his every move like a pair of faithful servants, depending on whatever mood struck them on any given day.

Oliver Wood, meanwhile, was so driven to beat Slytherin on Saturday that it was almost as though he'd missed what had happened on Halloween completely. He treated Harry no differently and, for once, Harry was glad that Wood was such a Quidditch fanatic, even if it meant a lot of extra training.

If only the rest of the school had reacted the same way. Usually a Gryffindor-Slytherin match would have been met with much anticipation and excitement over the days preceding it, now it was barely mentioned in the corridors.

What was perhaps even worse than the way the school had unanimously seemed to have decided that they were guilty was the way Gilderoy Lockhart was milking the tragedy.

The first fifteen minutes of their first Pokémon Battling class after Halloween had been devoted to Lockhart heroically blaming himself for having left the castle that night, claiming that had he been at Hogwarts he could have saved the poor Pokémon and that the perpetrator, for Lockhart at least didn't seem to suspect Harry, had obviously waited for him to leave the castle in order to act.

Ron had a few rather uncomplimentary things to say about that and unfortunately for him happened to say them whilst Professor McGonagall was passing by, earning himself a night of detention and a letter home to his mother reporting his 'foul language'.

Hermione just remained quiet.

But, finally, the day before the Quidditch match arrived and the school started to return somewhat to normal. The excitement of a good, well contested Quidditch match seemed just what they needed in light of this terrible event and the fact that days passed without anything else untoward happening meant that the student body were, slowly but surely, getting back to normal.

"Ready, Harry? The big day's here, are you nervous?" Ron asked, his voice bubbling with excitement. He, Harry and Hermione were walking down from the Gryffindor Common Room on the morning of the match and so far the nerves hadn't really set in.

"Not really," he admitted. "I was much more nervous last year. I mean, Malfoy is the new guy this time. I bet he'll be the one who's nervous."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Hermione warned. "We all know how self-confident Malfoy is." That was true. "And besides, I can bet you he's been practicing really hard, he really wants to beat you."

"I heard that he's got his own Quidditch pitch at home," Ron said with a look of distaste.

"Won't matter if he hasn't got anyone to practice against," Harry replied confidently. It was true, Harry attributed a lot of his ability on the Quidditch pitch to the countless occasions he and Fletchinder had gone up against Wood's Pelipper. Only by experiencing a proper chase could you learn the subtleties of Seeking.

They were down to the third floor and preparing to descend to the floor below when a voice that Harry really didn't want to have to deal with today made itself heard.

"Harry!" Gilderoy Lockhart was sweeping down the hallway towards them, a beaming smile on his face and his Hawlucha perched on his shoulder. "There you are!"

"Do you think he's seen me yet?" Harry muttered to Ron and Hermione. Despite the scowl on his face Ron sniggered.

"Ah, Harry, ready for the big game I take it?" Lockhart said jovially. "I bet you're filled with nerves right now?"

"Eh, no," Harry replied simply.

Lockhart laughed. "Ah, that's the spirit, Harry," he said, ruffling Harry's hair. Harry felt the distinct urge to hit him. "You may just be starting out but you don't need to put a brave face on in front of me. I myself used to play Seeker in my younger years, Hawlucha and I were unbeatable." Hawlucha flexed his muscles on Lockhart's shoulder.

"How?" Harry asked, watching Hawlucha doubtfully.

Lockhart chuckled. "That's what my opponents would say," he told him, tapping his nose and winking. "We even got a call from the England Quidditch Association, wanting me to play for them, but instead I chose to devote my life to fighting injustice and defending innocent lives."

"Right," Harry said, not believing a word of it. "Well, I need to be going now, so…" he tailed off, hoping Lockhart would get the hint.

"Perhaps you'd like me to accompany you," Lockhart said cheerfully. "I'm always happy to pass on my experience to worthy trainers."

"He said no," Ron bit out. Had he said this to any other professor he'd probably have lost Gryffindor fifty points and been stuck in detention for the whole of next week. As it was Lockhart was the exception.

"I think I just need time to myself," Harry said. "You know, to prepare."

"Ah, of course, every player worth his salt has to have a process," Lockhart said, nodding his head wisely. "I'll let you go then. Of course as a professor I've get to stay neutral," Lockhart gave Harry a conspiratorial wink. "But I'm sure no one will mind a bit of enthusiastic support for a bright young prospect. And if you ever need some tips feel free to visit my office."

Lockhart, mercifully, left after that, sweeping down the corridor with the air of a man happily oblivious to all trouble and strife.

"What a twat," Ron muttered angrily. "Who does he think he is suggesting Harry can get tips from him. I bet that Hawlucha hasn't played Seeker in his life."

"It does seem unlikely," Hermione admitted. Her attitude towards Lockhart had changed noticeably since learning what had been bothering Harry on Halloween. Harry hadn't told either of them outright but they'd got enough of an idea to know that Lockhart had done something unforgivable to him, and both Ron and Hermione were going to stand by their friend over their teacher if push came to shove.

"Let's just leave it," Harry said, weary of having to deal with Lockhart. The man was tiresome. Harry had given up on the anger that had filled him on Halloween but there was still a lot of lingering resentment towards the man and any benefit of the doubt Harry had been willing to allow him was long gone.

"Yes, we should get down to the pitch," Hermione said quickly. "It's almost time for the match, we'll want to get down there for the best seats."

"You're right," Ron agreed.

"I'll see you after the match," Harry told them. "I'm going to take Fletchinder to Madam Pomfrey for a last minute checkup." He pulled a Pokéball from his belt. "Take Charmander with you, he'll want to watch."

The trio said their goodbyes and split up, Ron and Hermione heading the same way Lockhart had gone whilst Harry headed in the opposite direction, making his way along the corridor towards the Hospital Wing.

"Fletchinder is in fine condition, Mr Potter," Madam Pomfrey announced after a cursory examination. It was something that Wood had suggested for the whole team before the match, the Gryffindor Captain wanting everything to be perfect in preparation for taking on Slytherin.

So far the rest of the team were nowhere to be seen, making Harry guess that they'd already been and went. A quick glance at the clock told him that the delay caused by Professor Lockhart meant that he was pushing it a bit for time and, knowing the way Wood had been recently, Harry quickly returned Fletchinder and hurried out of the Hospital Wing.

He'd descended one floor and walked along another corridor before he found his path blocked.

Standing in his path, eerily reminiscent of the scene one week ago, was an Absol. And if Harry had to bet he'd say it was the same Absol that he'd seen with Ron and Hermione last time.

He pulled out his Pokédex.

"Absol," the Pokédex said, "the Disaster Pokémon." A sudden shock jumped through Harry as he looked up at the snow white Pokémon. "Every time Absol appears before people it is followed by a disaster such as an earthquake or a tidal wave. As a result it came to be known as the disaster Pokémon."

"Disaster Pokémon," Harry muttered under his breath. His eyes met Absol's and he had the distinct feeling that the Pokémon was trying to tell him something. But what he couldn't make out.

A sudden noise from behind Harry caused him to jump and turn around. He immediately turned back as he heard Absol let out a low murmur of surprise. The Pokémon gave Harry one last look before it fled.

"Wait!" Harry called but it was too late. Just like last time Absol had disappeared without a trace.

"Blimey Harry, what are you still doing here?" The noise made itself known as Fred and George rounded the corner, looking in quite a hurry.

"What are _you_ still doing here?" Harry countered. The game was going to start soon and it seemed nearly half of the Gryffindor team weren't even in the stadium.

"No time," George said simply and the two of them rushed forward, grabbing Harry by the shoulders and rushing him down the corridor.

"Guys, what?" Harry spluttered, trying to avoid tripping over his own feet as he was dragged along. "Calm down!"

"Can't do that, I'm afraid, Harry," Fred said seriously. "If we don't get down to the pitch in time Wood will kill us. And then we'll definitely lose the match." That Harry could agree with and so he didn't complain as the Weasley twins rushed him forwards, although the stairs presented quite a challenge, and out onto the lawn.

As he was hurrying to the Quidditch pitch Harry's mind wandered back to the incident in the corridor. Was Absol going to bring disaster upon him? Last time they'd seen him Mrs Norris had been attacked later that very same day, would that happen again? Or was it to do with Quidditch, was Fletchinder in danger?

"Where have you been!?" Wood roared as Fred, George and Harry rushed through the door to the changing room, panting. "The match was due to start five minutes ago. Madam Hooch almost called it off, do you realise what would have happened then?"

"We would have forfeited the match," Angelina said coolly, glaring at the three boys almost as angrily as Wood was.

"Sorry Oliver," Harry said, the twins looking guilty too. He still wasn't sure why the twins had still been in the castle but since he had been too he found he couldn't judge.

Oliver grunted. "You better have the best damn game of your lives," he threatened them before turning and leaving the changing room, his team hurrying to follow on after him.

A huge cheer rose up from the stands as the Gryffindor team stepped out into the sunlight. Most of the school seemed to be routing for them, the Slytherin team always considered the most unpopular of the Hogwarts' teams, especially now that it had been leaked that Lucius Malfoy had supplied them with new Pokémon.

Harry joined the end of the Gryffindor line as they shook hands with the Slytherin team and Harry was surprised when none of them attempted to crush his hand. He guessed they were just so confident they didn't need any intimidatory tactics. Malfoy's smirk certainly leant credit to that argument.

"Pokémon out!" Madam Hooch called, the two teams releasing their Pokémon for the match. It was the first time Harry had seen the Vigoroth and Slaking since their encounter during their first practice of the season and, as he floated up into the air to his position, he could tell that they'd only got stronger.

"On my whistle! Three! Two! One!" And the game had begun.

"And here we go, Gryffindor versus Slytherin," Lee Jordan's magnified voice floated over the pitch. "We had a bit of a delay with the Gryffindor team for… unknown reasons." Harry wondered if Lee Jordan had an idea as to why Fred and George were late. "But they are all here and ready and that's what matters. Slytherin in possession, with their Vigoroth, unusual for a team to all catch the same Pokémon." The sarcasm in his voice was clear. "And Slytherin have scored."

Harry watched the game with a sinking feeling. While the Gryffindor team were good - the best, in Harry's opinion - they were no match for the Vigoroth who tore through them without mercy, working seamlessly as a team and never once letting the Gryffindor players get into rhythm.

"Night Shade!" Harry looked up in surprise just in time to see Fletchinder struck by an attack, the dark beam crashing straight into the unsuspecting Pokémon's chest.

"What's this!" Lee Jordan shouted as all attention was drawn to the Seekers. "Malfoy's Murkrow has launched an attack on Potter's Fletchinder! This is highly unusual."

That was an understatement. Harry new the rules and the Seekers were allowed to attack each other at any time. The thing was that it was generally accepted in the game that the Seekers wouldn't attack until the Snitch appeared, for both sportsmanship reasons as well as the fact that tiring out your Pokémon before the Snitch appears was usually a bad strategy.

"Fletchinder, dodge," Harry called as Malfoy ordered another Night Shade attack. He knew why Malfoy was doing this, Hermione had warned him. With Murkrow's Super Luck ability just one hit could prove decisive and it was clear that Malfoy was trying to take Harry out of the game before the Snitch was even released.

Well, two could play at that game.

"Fletchinder, Flame Charge!" Harry called and Fletchinder launched into an attack, striking the unsuspecting Murkrow with a clean blow before it had time to compose itself.

And so the battle raged on. Fletchinder and Murkrow continued to throw themselves at each other, more or less forgetting about the Snitch, while down below Wood and the others were left to deal with the Vigoroth.

The game wasn't going well for Gryffindor. The Vigoroth were simply too good and though the Gryffindor Chasers were doing their best they were simply being overwhelmed by Vigoroth's endless energy. Fred and George's Kecleon were finding it hard to have any impact on the game and only Wood's Snorlax was keeping them in it. But the score was still mounting up in Slytherin's favour.

Up above the game below the battle had become tactical. Like Murkrow Fletchinder had a special ability that could prove decisive, in his case Flame Body which had the potential to cause a burn upon physical contact. It had won Harry a match last year and Malfoy was well aware of this, keeping Murkrow at a distance and firing off only with long range special attacks. As a result the two Pokémon were at a stalemate, and that wasn't good enough for Harry.

"Fletchinder, fly down into the Chasers!" Harry called, trying to shake things up. Fletchinder obeyed without question, dodging a Dark Pulse and swooping down into the action, deftly dodging all kinds of arms, legs, claws and jaws as he evaded Murkrow.

"That'll be a penalty to Gryffindor!" Lee Jordan announced. "Fletchinder's dive has fooled Murkrow into hitting a Chaser with an attack and that'll be a free chance from the penalty line to be taken by Lopunny!"

The Gryffindor Chasers looked in no hurry to take this quickly, taking advantage of whatever rest they had, but Madam Hooch was more than wise to their attempts and called them to be quick in continuing the game.

"And Lopunny puts it away! Gryffindor forty, Slytherin ninety!" It clearly pained Lee Jordan to say the scoreline as Slytherin immediately came back the other way, needing no time to rest as they swarmed forward.

"Fletchinder, back up!" Harry called. The Vigoroth had attempted a few cheeky swipes at him in the few minutes he'd been flying in among them and Harry decided that it would be a good idea to get him out of there and take his chances with Murkrow before any of the attempts connected.

"Tired, Potter!" Malfoy shouted across the pitch to him, smirking broadly. He had held off the attacks for the moment, evidently wanting to take the opportunity to gloat. "My, where's that Gryffindor pride?!"

And that's when Harry saw it, the tiniest glint of gold in the corner of his eye. Malfoy, Harry saw, was oblivious, but that would change as soon as the crowd took notice and started screaming. Harry thought quick.

"Fletchinder, Flame Charge!" Harry called, sending his Pokémon flying forward. Murkrow dodged, avoiding the attack with ease before turning to prepare a counter attack. Except Fletchinder wasn't there. By the time either Malfoy or Murkrow had realised what was going on Fletchinder was already over halfway to the Snitch. He plucked the ring off with practiced ease and flew back to Harry.

"Murkrow, Dark Pulse!"

Fletchinder reached Harry just in time, dropping the Snitch on the Gryffindor pole triumphantly, before Murkrow's attack slammed him in the back.

"Fletchinder!" Harry shouted, quickly adjusting the controls to lower his balloon to the ground. Below him Fletchinder was lying motionless on the grass and the rest of the Gryffindor team were hurrying over, concerned looks on their faces.

As the balloon took an age to reach the ground Harry's mind flashed with horrible thoughts of what might await him. Unbidden the image of the disaster Pokémon, Absol, rose to the surface of his mind and he shivered in fear at the thought of what that could mean for his Pokémon.

He jumped out of the balloon long before it hit the ground, stumbling slightly but hurrying over to where his teammates were huddled, both people and Pokémon forming a circle around where Fletchinder had fallen.

"Fletchinder!" Harry called as he pushed through his teammates to reach him. His heart froze when he saw that Fletchinder had not moved since landing. "Fletchinder! Are you alright?!"

Fletchinder's head turned weakly in his direction and his eyes opened. "Fletch," he muttered, staggering up to his feet and flexing out his wings experimentally. "Fletchinder!" he cried triumphantly as he stood up proudly and Harry, overcome with relief, threw his arms around his Pokémon.

"You were brilliant, Fletchinder," Harry murmured as he held the Pokémon close, trying to calm his racing heart. "Absolutely brilliant."

He felt Fletchinder place a wing on his back and he pulled away slightly. The look in Fletchinder's eyes was one he had seen many times before, and he had gotten used to it as part of his Pokémon's personality. It was a look of steely determination, and Harry knew that Fletchinder would never give anything less than what he'd shown today.

It was enough to make any trainer proud.


	8. Coincidence, Absolutely

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

Harry, Ron and Hermione waited patiently in the Hospital Wing as Madam Pomfrey gave Fletchinder a thorough checkover. Harry wasn't as worried now that he'd seen Fletchinder back on his feet, even giving his wings a few experimental flaps had lightened Harry's heart. Now that he sat here he scolded himself for getting so worried about the appearance of Absol and what it might mean. He had been so scared when in reality he should have seen that the hit Fletchinder took wasn't as bad as his panicked brain had made it out to be.

"You should have seen Malfoy's face after he realised you'd got the Snitch," Ron chortled. "It was the best."

"He was mad?" Harry asked.

"Furious, but he had nothing on Flint," Ron told him. "I saw them as you were taking Fletchinder away, he was going absolutely mental on Malfoy. Something about being more interested in getting one up on you to notice the Snitch."

Harry grinned. Though it might be poor form to take pleasure in someone else's misfortune Harry couldn't help but feel it was a good bit of karma for Malfoy after he had bribed his way onto the Slytherin Quidditch team. Harry wondered if Malfoy would be thrown off the team if he lost another game. The idea made him almost giddy.

"Fletchinder seems to be in good health," Madam Pomfrey announced at that moment, turning away from the Pokémon as she finished her examination. "He's a bit banged up but that's nothing a good night's rest won't solve."

"That's great," Harry said in relief. "Thanks Madam Pomfrey."

"I'd suggest you leave Fletchinder in the Hospital Wing overnight," Madam Pomfrey continued. "After a crash like that it is not wise to forego the cautious approach."

At that moment there was a shout from the door.

"Poppy!" Professor McGonagall shouted urgently, her voice tense. She was carrying one end of a fairly large object, with Professor Snape holding the other end, and was looking fraught. "Quickly! We've got an emergency!"

"Oh dear," Madam Pomfrey said as she ran forward. "Put him on the bed." It was only then that Harry realised that the object being carried between McGonagall and Snape was, in fact, a person.

"Colin," Hermione gasped.

Harry caught a quick glimpse of Colin Creevey, first year of Gryffindor House, before Madam Pomfrey blocked his view, bustling about his bedside. From what Harry saw it wasn't good.

Colin's skin was pale and even from across the room Harry had seen the sheen of sweat that adorned his forehead. He seemed to be completely out of it yet he was shivering madly. Harry felt like something heavy had landed in his stomach.

"Does Dumbledore know?" Madam Pomfrey asked, not even looking up as she tended to her patient.

"I've sent word," McGonagall said shortly. Her face was white and Harry couldn't remember her looking so worried, frown lines crinkling her forehead. Professor Snape was as impassive as ever, though his eyes never left the young boy he'd just carried in.

"We found him just a corridor away," McGonagall informed Pomfrey, and unknown to her Harry, Ron and Hermione. "He was in a terrible state but there was no sign of his attacker."

"Well thank goodness you found him," Madam Pomfrey said. "I shudder to think what would have happened if he'd been there too long." She quietened, focusing on her work. There was a long period of tense silence as Madam Pomfrey continued her treatment while everyone else watched with bated breath. Then she stood back and sighed.

"That's the best I can do, for now," she admitted. "He's at least stable but if this toxin's the same as what is in poor Mrs Norris…"

"I think that can be safe to assume," McGonagall told her. They shared a look.

"Minerva, Severus, I got your message." Albus Dumbledore had appeared, his face solemn as he strode into the Hospital Wing, only hesitating when he saw Harry, Ron and Hermione standing there.

"Harry, what are you doing here?" Dumbledore asked, sounding puzzled. Together McGonagall and Snape looked over at him as though they'd only just realised he was there.

"I was having Madam Pomfrey look over my Fletchinder," Harry answered. Fletchinder gave a small cry of agreement to back up his case.

"Of course," Dumbledore acknowledged before he turned to Madam Pomfrey. "How is Mr Creevey?"

Madam Pomfrey shook her head. "Not good, Albus," she said in a hushed voice, though it carried throughout the silent room anyway. "It looks just like what happened to Mrs Norris."

"And the scene?" Dumbledore asked, turning to Professors McGonagall and Snape.

"Just like last time," Snape answered succinctly.

"Except there was no message," McGonagall added. "Just the boy."

Dumbledore nodded his head slowly. "I see," he said softly, his eyes staring down on young Colin who looked so small lying between the four adults.

"Do you think it's him?" Snape asked, his voice emotionless. Dumbledore glanced over at Harry and the others before he nodded. "And the chamber?"

"None of you were at Hogwarts the last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened," Dumbledore said softly. "The attacks have followed much the same pattern. I think it's safe to say that the Chamber of Secrets has, indeed, been opened once more."

There was a lengthy silence at this pronouncement as everyone stood still. No one moved.

"Professor McGonagall," Dumbledore said eventually. "Would you please escort Mr Potter, Mr Weasley and Ms Granger back to their common room." She nodded. "And also it would be helpful if you could inform your students of the attack," he added. "Professor Snape, if you could find Professors Flitwick and Sprout and do likewise with your own students I'd be most grateful. Once you've done that I'd like to meet with all four of you in my office." Professor Snape nodded and swept from the room without another word.

"Come on you three," McGonagall said, turning her attention on Harry, Ron and Hermione. "Time to go." The three of them nodded but Harry hesitated, turning to Madam Pomfrey.

"I'll come back for Fletchinder in the morning," he told her, to which she gave him a firm nod, before he followed McGonagall out of the Hospital Wing.

The journey up to the Gryffindor Common Room passed in silence. The castle, with deep shadows throughout the hallways as the sun set early, was suddenly terrifying as each dark corner and every nook and cranny seemed capable of housing some sort of monster.

When they arrived at the Common Room the atmosphere was vibrant. The Gryffindors were all happily celebrating their victory over Slytherin and their first thought when McGonagall appeared was that she was there to end the party. As it happened she was.

McGonagall explained what had happened to Colin Creevey and advised them all to remain inside Gryffindor Tower until told otherwise, leaving many students pale faced and worried. She ended with the statement that they hope to catch the culprit soon, but based on what Harry had heard in the Hospital Wing that didn't seem likely. She left soon after.

The Common Room was deathly quiet in her wake. No one wanted to do anything as they all took in the idea of a second attack, this one on a student. Eventually the muttering started until everyone was talking, the low murmur around the Common Room a constant drone throughout the evening.

Harry, Ron and Hermione found themselves a free spot in the corner of the room.

"I can't believe it," Hermione murmured, holding her hands to her face. "Poor Colin."

"Whoever's doing this is sick," Ron said, shaking his head. "Mrs Norris was one thing but attacking a defenceless kid."

Harry said nothing. What had happened to Colin worried him deeply but he had another issue that was adding to his burden, one he didn't think was a coincidence.

"I saw Absol again," he said quietly. It took a moment for Ron and Hermione to comprehend what he said.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, mate, what brought this on?" Ron added.

Harry sighed. "Before the game I was walking back from the Hospital Wing when I bumped into it again," he explained. "That's why I was late. The thing is…" he fiddled with his fingers, not looking up at his friends. "I think it's got something to do with the attacks."

"What?" Ron asked, incredulous. Hermione frowned.

"Why do you think that, Harry?" she asked. "Absol isn't a Poison type. That seems a bit of a stretch."

Harry shook his head. "I read the Pokédex description," he told them. "For Absol it said that they only show themselves before natural disasters."

"So?" Ron asked.

"So, we saw Absol on Halloween, too," Harry said. "And I saw him today, and both days there have been attacks."

"Yeah but," Ron didn't look convinced. "This… whatever it is that is happening, it's not a natural disaster. And if it was then where was Absol last year when You-know-who almost offed you in the forest?"

"I don't know," Harry grumbled. "I just… It felt like Absol was warning me, that's all. When I met it today and it looked me in the eye…" he trailed off.

"I think you're thinking too much of it, mate," Ron said worriedly. "And I don't blame you. This stuff shouldn't be happening around Hogwarts."

"I'm with Ron on this," Hermione told Harry. "It's just a coincidence."

No matter what Hermione or Ron said though Harry was sure that there was more behind the meaning of Absol's appearances and silently promised himself that if he ever saw Absol again that he would be on guard. He would not be taken by surprise and if this really was Voldemort then he would fight.

* * *

The mood around the castle changed dramatically after the news of the second attack spread around the school. Everyone, including even the Slytherins, were being extra cautious, scared that they would be the next to be attacked. Dumbledore had visited the Gryffindor Common Room a few hours after McGonagall had left and had advised all students to stick together whenever they were outside their common rooms. This was advice they took to heart.

Along with this came the announcement that the Ministry were providing extra security around the school, with a piece in the Daily Prophet the next morning with quotes from Minister of Pokémon, Cornelius Fudge, claiming the safety of the students was their first priority. It was taking some getting used to passing by the muscular Machoke and Machamp every time one entered or left the common room.

The one upside to the attack on Colin Creevey was that it seemed no one suspected Harry, Ron or Hermione anymore. It could be perhaps because they did not believe they would attack a fellow Gryffindor, or maybe that it was much more believable that they attacked the ever hated Mrs Norris than an innocent first year. However a small, cynical, part of Harry's mind couldn't help but wonder if it was not just because he was now a Gryffindor hero after his Quidditch triumph over Slytherin that convinced people to look the other way.

Either way it was a relief to no longer be treated like he had some sort of contagious disease.

One thing that did incite the interest of the student body was the rumours surrounding the Chamber of Secrets. Those who had seen the writing on the wall at the scene of the first attack, and that was most of the school, had been wondering what the Chamber of Secrets was, and now that Colin had been attacked interest reached a new high.

This was of particular interest to Harry, Ron and Hermione, who knew more than anyone else figured.

Ever since Dumbledore had confirmed the existence of the Chamber of Secrets in the Hospital Wing Harry, Ron and Hermione had been desperate to find out more. So far all they had was what Dumbledore had told them, that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened before, back when not even Professor McGonagall was at the school.

It wasn't much to go on.

The library hadn't proved particularly helpful either, with literally no mention of the Chamber of Secrets in any of the books they checked. And considering how good they'd got at researching while trying to find out about Nicolas Flamel the year before, that was saying something.

Still, Hermione had one last trick up her sleeve, one that Ron was entirely against, but as they ran out of options he conceded they had no other choice. That's why, nearly three weeks after the second attack, Harry, Ron and Hermione approached Percy Weasley as he sat alone in the library.

"Hi Percy," Harry said, keeping his voice down so as to avoid annoying Madam Pince. Percy looked up, surprised, and then frowned as he saw the three of them sitting across from him.

"What do you want?" he asked suspiciously. Harry supposed he was right to be suspicious. The three of them barely saw Percy most of the time, the sixth year taking his studies and prefect responsibilities very serious, so it was highly suspicious that they had sought him out.

Harry and Ron turned to Hermione. She looked startled at having been singled out but just let out a small noise of annoyance before turning to Percy.

"We were wondering if you knew anything about the Chamber of Secrets, Percy," Hermione said. "We know that if anyone could help us find out it would be you." For a by-the-books good student Hermione was awfully adept at flattering someone to get what she wanted. Unfortunately Percy wasn't an easy target.

"I know plenty, Hermione," he said sternly. "But I prefer not to waste my time with idle gossip."

"But this is important," Harry said. "If the Chamber of Secrets really has been opened…"

"Then you'll be of no use," Percy said shortly. "So much drama surrounds the Chamber, so many rumours. There is little that is known to be true and a lot that is nothing but conjecture."

"Don't be a prat, Percy," Ron implored. Percy just gave him a stern look.

"We only want to know the facts," Hermione pleaded. "We don't want to hear the rumours, we just want the facts." Percy examined her for a long moment and then sighed.

"Very well," he admitted, wiping his glasses with his shirt before replacing them. "But I warn you, I will only give facts. I will not speculate, I will not indulge in rumours, only facts." Harry, Ron and Hermione nodded, leaning in eagerly. Percy sighed.

"The only thing we know for certain about the Chamber of Secrets is that it is said to have been opened fifty years ago," Percy told them. "Whether there ever was a chamber no one knows but there was some Pokémon attacking the students and in the end a girl died."

"A girl died?" Ron whispered. Percy nodded.

"The culprit was caught soon after but the chamber was never found," Percy said.

"That isn't to say it doesn't exist." A girl, the same girl Harry remembered from the night Mrs Norris was attacked, with a Ravenclaw blue tie, had passed them as Percy spoke. Percy stiffened.

"Hello Penelope," he said, clearly trying to cover his surprise. Penelope sat down next to him.

"The girl who died," Penelope said, glancing in acknowledgement at Percy. "She died in a bathroom, the same bathroom that is right next to where Mrs Norris was found."

"I think I've heard of that," Hermione said thoughtfully. "Isn't that the bathroom people say is haunted?"

"The very same," Penelope nodded. She held out a hand. "Penelope Clearwater."

"Hermione Granger," Hermione replied, shaking the older girls hand and blushing.

"And you're Harry Potter and you're Ron Weasley," Penelope said with a smile. "Percy's brother."

"Eh, yeah," Ron said, surprised she'd known his name. Harry, less surprised, was more interested in hearing about the haunted bathroom.

"Yes, it's said to be haunted by the spirit of the girl who died there," Penelope told them. "And I believe that that girl, Moaning Myrtle they call her, is the same girl that was killed fifty years ago."

"This is all conjecture, of course," Percy said hurriedly. "What I said are the only facts we know about this."

"Yes, but to conjecture what had happened is what makes the history so much more interesting," Penelope said passionately. "It's what changes something from irrelevant to relevant, what brings life to an otherwise dead past. Don't you think, Percy?"

"Eh," Percy said, blushing. "Erm, yeah, I mean, yes, that makes sense." Penelope smiled.

"I've never been to that bathroom," Hermione said, bringing the topic of conversation back to the subject of the chamber. "It's not really a part of the castle I see very often."

"Most Ravenclaws don't use it if they can avoid it," Penelope told them. "Even though it is right on our route from the Great Hall to Ravenclaw Tower. There's just something off about the place. I've only been in there once and it was so cold. It was like there was a draft through the place but all the windows were shut. The lights flickered too, it was really weird."

They left soon after that, Percy clearly not happy that his facts-only discussion had descended into rumours and hearsay, but Harry, Ron and Hermione had heard what they needed to.

"If the last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened was fifty years ago it's got to be You-know-who," Ron said.

"Yeah, but how?" Harry asked. "He can't be possessing somebody like last time, Dumbledore will be watching out for that."

"Maybe it's not him personally," Ron said. "He had loads of followers, You-know-who did, and a lot of them avoided jail according to dad."

"That's right, the Death Eaters, aren't they called?" Hermione said. "I read an article theorising that many of those who fought by You-know-who during the war claimed they were coerced and many of them got off."

"Malfoy's dad was one of them," Ron said with a scowl. "Told the courts that You-know-who had his wife hostage but she was a Black and all the Blacks sided with You-know-who. Either that or they got disowned, they were really big supporters."

* * *

 **A/N:** Hello everyone, hope you're enjoying the story so far. Unfortunately this may be the only update this week but rest assured that I will be straight back on schedule next week.

See you soon.


	9. The More Things Change

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

While knowing all this didn't exactly make any of them any safer, it was a small comfort to be armed with more knowledge if they ever found themselves under attack. Although, of course, they still had no idea what sort of Pokémon was behind the attacks or how Voldemort, if he really was behind it all, was organising them.

However the weeks passed and as time went on it started to seem more and more likely that whoever was responsible for the attacks was laying low, especially with the school on such high alert.

One of the biggest proponents of this theory was Gilderoy Lockhart.

"I knew it," he proclaimed loudly in the very last Pokémon Battling class of term. "As soon as the perpetrator realised I was hot on his tail he had to lay low. It was a risky thing to do, attacking young Mr Creevey whilst I was here, and he must have realised that and gone deep underground to hide from my detective capabilities."

Harry highly doubted it was Lockhart Voldemort was hiding from but other than that his theory made sense. It would be foolish to attack when everyone was on such high alert. Unfortunately that just made Harry worry more for when people would start to let their guards down. That's what had happened after the first attack and Colin Creevey had paid the price.

And on top of that Harry was waiting on tenterhooks for the next appearance of Absol.

Fortunately for Harry he wouldn't have to be on a knife edge for too much longer. Due to the tragic events that had taken place pretty much every student had taken up the offer to go home to their families for Christmas and Harry, not having a real family to go back to, had instead been invited to join the Weasleys at the Burrow.

"Now, how about I give you all a little something to smile about over the Christmas holidays," Lockhart said, beaming at the class. "I am going to, completely at random, choose two of you to battle each other here in front of the whole class. Who's interested?"

Nearly every hand went up. An opportunity to battle was not something anyone was going to turn down. Lockhart laughed at their enthusiasm and looked out at the sea of hands.

"Okay, Harry, why don't you come up here," he said, his promise of the selection being completely random going to hell. "And Mr Weasley, how about you too." Ron grinned as he too was called to the front of the class.

"Alright everyone," Lockhart said excitedly, sweeping his long coat around as he took the referees spot. "Trainers, pick your Pokémon if you'd please." Harry thought carefully about his choice but he quickly realised he was in a difficult spot. Both Charmander and Fletchinder were fire types, meaning if Ron chose Squirtle, who, although not as experienced, held type advantage, he was in trouble. On the other hand Growlithe was strong too. Harry made his choice.

"Release your Pokémon," Lockhart called and together Harry and Ron threw their Pokéballs. Harry had gone with Charmander, figuring that Fletchinder might be restricted in a classroom environment. Ron had gone with Growlithe. "Begin!"

"Charmander, use Flamethrower!" Harry shouted, beginning with Charmander's most powerful attack. Charmander belched a plume of fire at his opponent, who stood and took it. Too late did Harry realise his mistake.

"Growlithe's ability is Flash Fire, remember," Ron shouted gleefully as Growlithe took the attack with no damage. "Now Growlithe, use Flame Wheel!" Growlithe charged forwards, cloaked in fire, and struck Charmander fiercely.

"Charmander, are you okay?" Harry asked as Charmander staggered back. But Charmander wouldn't back down. "Okay, use Slash!" Charmander rushed forward, surprising Growlithe with his quick recovery as he slashed his claws across Growlithe's muzzle, causing him to fall back and whimper in pain.

"Fire Fang!" Ron called.

"Smokescreen, Charmander!" Harry answered back.

Growlithe charged forwards, fangs coated with fire, quickly becoming engulfed in smoke as his opponent, and the rest of the room, became obscured.

"Use Slash!" Charmander's glowing claws came out of nowhere and knocked Growlithe back.

"Fire Spin!" Ron called, taking advantage of Charmander having revealed his position. The smoke was already clearing and Growlithe could see his target as he fired off his attack.

"Jump, Charmander!" Harry called, his Pokémon leaping into the air at his command. "Now use Growl!" The low growl that emitted from Charmander's throat caused Growlithe to hesitate, giving Harry an opening.

"Charmander, use Slash!" he shouted.

"Growlithe, use Flame Wheel!" Ron responded.

The two Pokémon charged at each other and threw themselves full tilt into their attacks, Charmander slashing his claws as Growlithe charged head first towards him, his body surrounded by fire. The two Pokémon clashed with tremendous force, showing all their power to those watching as they battled for supremacy.

Finding themselves equals they pushed apart, Charmander sliding back towards Harry, Growlithe back to Ron. They were each panting heavily, each mostly spent, and it was clear that one more attack and that would be the end of the battle. Then the two Pokémon started to glow.

"What's happening?" Ron said uncertainly, looking over at his Pokémon worriedly. Harry likewise was lost, not knowing whether to run to Charmander or not.

"Holy crap!" Dean shouted from the desks. "They're evolving!"

The light was growing brighter and the two Pokémon were growing larger. Harry watched with baited breath as the light reached maximum brightness and then burst, revealing two much changed Pokémon.

"Charmander?" Harry said nervously to his Pokémon. The taller Pokémon, a darker shade of red with more angular features, turned to him, and grinned.

"Char-me-le-on," he said, pounding his fist against his chest. Harry quickly fished out his Pokédex and pointed it at the new Pokémon.

"Charmeleon, the Flame Pokémon and the evolved form of Charmander," the Pokédex said. "When it swings its burning tail it elevates the temperature to unbearably high levels."

"Wow," Harry said, a grin spreading across his face. "Charmeleon… that was amazing."

"Exceptional," Lockhart said suddenly, catching the attention of the whole class. "And just as I anticipated. I knew these two Pokémon were just brimming with the potential to evolve, a good Pokémon battle was all they needed to get the push."

"I can't believe that prick," Ron said a few minutes later as they left the classroom, though he was smiling. His new Pokémon, much larger than Growlithe had been, was walking loyally at his side. Next to Harry, Charmeleon was walking down on the ground, now being too big to ride on his shoulders.

"It was rather unfair to take credit for the evolution," Hermione agreed. "Even if he did help them along all the credit goes to Charmander and Growlithe."

"That's right," Ron said, rubbing the head of his Pokémon and grinning. "Hey, Harry, can I use your Pokédex, I want to see what Pokémon Growlithe is now." Harry acquiesced, handing over the Pokédex and listening interestedly as Ron pointed it at his new Pokémon.

"Arcanine," the Pokédex said. "The Legendary Pokémon and the evolved form of Growlithe. A Pokémon that has been admired since the past for its beauty, it runs agilely as if on wings."

"Wicked," Ron said. Arcanine gave a bark of agreement and stood up on his hind legs, easily able to lick Ron's face.

"Arcanine, knock it off," Ron laughed, his Pokémon obeying him but still grinning happily.

"You know, we never got to finish our battle," Harry said. It's true, given the drama of the evolutions the battle had been all but forgotten about. "What do you say we go outside and try out our new Pokémon?"

"What do I say? Yes!" Ron said enthusiastically.

"It's cold out," Hermione commented. "But with two fire types I think it'll be okay." Harry and Ron grinned.

"Charmeleon learned a new move while evolving," Harry said excitedly. "Metal Claw, I really want to try it out. Plus it'll get me something to hit you with other than Slash, if your Arcanine still has the ability Flash Fire."

"Sure does, wouldn't want to lose that," Ron said with a grin, but his face dropped as he saw Harry's expression. "Harry?"

"Oh no," Harry said softly, and he pointed ahead of them.

There stood Absol, as if he had been waiting for them all along. He stood stock still, so still that they hadn't even noticed him at first. He watched them with his small red eyes, and then he ran off. Harry's heart sank.

"Don't worry about it, Harry," Ron said, though his voice was slightly shaky. Clearly denying Absol's significance was harder to do when he was there in person.

"We should go to the common room," Harry said. "The last two times Absol appeared someone was attacked and if it happens again we shouldn't be anywhere near it."

"It won't happen," Hermione said, trying to be soothing but with a touch of annoyance in her voice. "You're overreacting, two appearances does not make a trend."

"I don't know, Harry might be right," admitted Ron. "It's better to be safe than sorry, right."

Hermione looked exasperatedly at the two of them, wondering to herself how these boys had got sorted into Gryffindor, before she gave up.

"Alright, why don't we head to the Great Hall," she suggested. "There'll be lots of students there, and Dumbledore. We'll be more than safe if there is any attack." Harry and Ron shared a look, then nodded.

They started to move themselves along the corridor, a lot more jumpy and less free spirited than they had been a minute ago. Harry was reminded of his own thought that they had to watch out for the moment they let their guard down. That moment seemed to be now.

"Just down here and we're in the Entrance Hall," Ron said, a touch of relief in his voice. "Come on, Arcanine." But Arcanine didn't move. He was sniffing, obviously picking up a scent as he raised his nose up into the air before wandering off down a deserted hallway.

"Arcanine!" Ron called in distress, hurrying after his newly evolved fire type. "Arcanine, where are you going?"

"He must have smelled something," Hermione suggested as they hurried after the Pokémon. "I wonder what it is."

Arcanine led them quite a distance from where they had been heading, his nose fixed to the ground as he followed some sort of trail, the humans and Charmeleon following uncertainly behind.

"Arc!" Arcanine barked, his hackles raised as he stopped suddenly at a corner. Sharing a look Harry, Ron and Hermione carefully stepped around the corner and beheld a horrifying sight.

Blood. Everywhere. And in the midst of it all were two bodies. One of them was a Pokémon, mostly white with a few stripes of red, laying face up in a pool of its own blood. The other was a student, a Hufflepuff by his tie, and upon closer inspection they recognised him. His name was Justin Finch-Fletchley.

"Fletchinder," Harry said, releasing the bird Pokémon. "Go get Dumbledore," he told his Pokémon urgently. "He should be in the Great Hall. Go." And Fletchinder shot off, clearly understanding the gravity of the situation.

"Justin," a small voice came from the other end of the corridor and Harry looked up to see another Hufflepuff he knew by name, Ernie McMillan. His face was pale and his eyes were wide. He looked ready to puke.

Dumbledore's arrival on the scene was swift.

"What has happened?" he asked, though his eyes immediately took to Justin and his Pokémon.

"We found them like this," Harry admitted.

"Arcanine smelled the blood," Ron added, looking a bit sick. Dumbledore nodded once before pulling out a Pokéball.

"Alakazam," he addressed the Pokémon that appeared from within. "Please take Mr Finch-Fletchley to the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey will know what to do." Alakazam nodded and immediately he, and Justin, disappeared.

"What about the Pokémon?" Harry asked weakly. Dumbledore looked down sadly.

"It is too late for Zangoose, I'm afraid," Dumbledore admitted. "He has passed."

* * *

A/N: And I'm back. Sorry for the change in upload schedule but it unfortunately couldn't be helped. Looking forward I don't anticipate any more changes for the rest of the story.

I would just like to take this moment to clarify one thing that I'm sure many of you are probably wondering. Yes, I know Growlithe evolves by evolution stone, but I've changed it a bit for the purposes of the story. In this world things like evolution stones serve as catalysts for evolution. Any Growlithe will evolve if given a fire stone but even without one they can still evolve, provided they gain enough experience, which Ron's has.

I hope that clears things up. Thanks for reading and I look forward to seeing you in the next chapter.


	10. Charlie

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

Harry moaned slightly as he felt the light burn at his eyelids and tugged at his duvet to pull it over his head, turning away from the offending brightness. He turned onto his side and curled up, feeling the warmth of his bed start to lull him back to sleep.

A loud snore sounded, breaking through the fuzz in Harry's brain. He opened his eyes, peaking out through the gap in his sheets to where the sound was coming from.

Ron was lying splayed out on his bed, his feet sticking out at unusual angles as his face lay flat against his pillow, a tiny sliver of drool forming at the corner of his mouth.

Harry sighed as he realised that it was probably time to get up and, trying hard not to think too much about it, he pulled the covers away from his face.

Immediately the light blinded him and he quickly threw his arm up over his eyes. The window in Ron's room didn't have any curtains, Scabbers the Rattata having chewed right through them, and so the morning sun was shining into the room unfiltered, and what's more was reflected vibrantly off the lurid orange Chudley Cannons posters.

Harry and Ron, along with Ginny, Fred, George and Percy, had arrived back at the Burrow a couple of weeks ago. After the most recent attack that led to Justin joining Colin and Mrs Norris in the Hospital Wing and the death of his Zangoose Dumbledore had arranged for all students to be sent home immediately, asking for families to take in any of their children's friends who had nowhere to return to. In the day between the attack and the journey back to London all students were restricted to the common room, all meals being brought up to them by the Pokémon that served them in the Great Hall.

Harry thought that the break had been well needed. They were all on edge when they reached Kings Cross station, the events of the year having taken a lot out of them, but to be able to return home, and for Harry the Burrow was becoming something like home, was a huge weight off the students' shoulders.

Ron let out another grunting snore, rolling onto his back and somehow not falling off the single bed he slept on. Lying next to him on the floor, taking up all available space in the room, Arcanine copied Ron's movement, his tongue lolling out in his sleep.

A thud suddenly sounded at the window and Ron jerked awake, falling off the side of his bed and hitting the floor hard. Arcanine, who had only just managed to get out of the way, crawled over to his trainer and started licking his face.

"Mornin' Arcanine," Ron mumbled, absently stroking his Pokémon while simultaneously trying to hold Arcanine back from his assault on his face. "Wha' was that?" he said to Harry.

Harry, having sat up in bed to investigate the noise, pointed at the window. A large chunk of snow was splattered across it. Ron rolled his eyes.

"Bet you I know who did it?" Ron said, offering Harry a bet he'd never take as he clambered over his own bed and went to open the window. "Hey!"

And that was as far as he got as a second snowball, thrown just as accurately as the first, struck him full in the face.

"Whoops!" A voice shouted from below, not sounding at all apologetic. "Sorry, Ron!" Harry snuck up to the window and tentatively stuck his head out.

Fred and George were standing out in the garden, wrapped up in gloves, hats and scarves with huge grins on their faces as they looked up at them. Standing beside them, looking freezing even though she was dressed equally warmly, was Ginny, with her Vulpix in her arms.

"What's going on?" Harry asked.

"Snow!" Fred shouted.

"A new frost for a new year," George added cheerfully. That reminded Harry why he had been so tired this morning; they had stayed up late the night before to see in the new year.

"I'm tired!" Ron complained, having wiped the snow off his face, though there was still a big red mark where the snowball had made contact.

"Uh, uh, uh," Fred said. "Family tradition."

"Now if only we could get Percy up," George commented, tossing a snowball at the prefects window. It hit and Harry had to be impressed with George's aim.

"We'll be down in a minute," Harry said with a grin, causing Ron to grumble next to him. Pulling back from the window he turned to his Pokémon. "Snowball fight guys, who's in?" Charmeleon was all up for it but it seemed like Fletchinder shared Ron's sentiments, tucking his head back under his wing.

"Suit yourself," Harry grinned, quickly pulling on his warmest clothes, including the Fletchinder hat he'd purchased at Madam Malkin's over the summer. "Come on Ron."

"Do we have to?" Ron moaned but he started to get dressed as well and soon enough they were hurrying down the stairs, passing a disgruntled Percy on the way.

"Hold on, let me see you two," Mrs Weasley called out as the two of them burst out into the sitting room. She fussed over them, checking their scarves and gloves carefully before patting them on the arm. "Okay, you're all set."

Arcanine was the first out the door and he immediately launched himself into the snow, rolling on the ground and jumping around as though he'd never seen snow before in his life. Ron was second out, and he got a snowball straight in the face.

"Bloody hell," he complained as he wiped his face clean again. "Stop that. I wasn't ready." He was forced to quickly cover his face with his arms as two more snowballs flew straight at him. The battle was on.

Harry and Ron quickly formed a team, hiding behind a big bank of snow and firing snowballs out over the top to where Fred, George and Ginny had made their base. Charmeleon was helping out on defence, firing off flamethrowers at every snowball thrown their way, whilst Arcanine ignored them all, instead choosing to jump and try to catch the snowballs in his mouth as they flew by, not at all worried about getting hit.

Then a shadow passed over them and everyone looked up.

"What is that?" Harry asked, looking up and peering against the sun to see what was flying down from above.

"Charlie," Ron grinned, standing up from behind the snow mound. He promptly got hit in the face by a well aimed snowball from the twins.

Ignoring Ron's spluttering next to him Harry watched as the shadow got closer, getting more distinguishable as it neared them. That's when Harry realised that it was a Pokémon, and not just any Pokémon either.

It was a Charizard.

Charizard landed heavily in the middle of the battlefield, causing the whole ground to shake. Arcanine raced forward, tail wagging madly as it barked towards the Pokémon. Charizard looked inquisitive.

"An Arcanine," a voice spoke and Harry's eyes were drawn to the Charizard's back.

Riding astride the great fire type was a young man with a sturdy build, freckled, almost tanned looking skin, and unmistakeable Weasley red hair.

"Arc!" Arcanine barked happily, spinning around to chase his tail before lying down in the snow gazing eagerly up at the new arrival, looking as though he wanted to play.

"Charlie?" Ron asked, once again braving standing up from behind his shelter. Fortunately this time there were no snowballs forthcoming.

"Ron," Charlie said with a grin, sliding off the back of Charizard. "Is this Growlithe?" He approached the fire type and started to rub its large head, prompting Arcanine to go cross eyed with happiness. On the other side of the field Fred, George and Ginny were moving towards them.

"What are you doing here?" Ron asked, still bewildered.

"I got a week off," Charlie told them all as they gathered around. "I'm staying with a friend of mine up in Manchester but since I knew you guys were home I thought I'd come by and check on you."

"Bloody hell, that was an entrance," Fred grinned. "Way to show off bro."

"Charlie!" Ginny shouted, running up to her brother and throwing herself at him, causing him to let out a small noise as the wind was knocked out of him.

"Easy there, squirt," he said with a slight wheeze. "Don't need to greet me and kill me in the same day." He looked up over her head and caught sight of Harry.

"You must be Harry," he said with a smile, holding out a hand. "Charlie Weasley, these guys' brother."

"Harry Potter," Harry introduced himself, shaking hands. Beneath his fingers he could feel rough calluses and Harry was reminded that Charlie worked with Dragon Pokémon. He certainly looked like he could handle himself.

"This is my starter Pokémon, Charmeleon," Harry introduced as Charmeleon stepped forward.

"Huh, no kidding," Charlie said with a smirk. "This here is my starter Pokémon," he said, gesturing behind him where Charizard let out a low roar. "Looks like we've both started off with a Charmander."

"Charmeleon is really strong," Fred said, a mischievous grin on his face. "He's already evolved and everything. Didn't your Charmander only do that after third year?" Charizard huffed, looking very offended.

"Easy there, Fred," Charlie said easily. The jibe didn't seem to bother him a bit. "Say much more and I might let Charizard hang you from the roof."

Fred looked up at the roof of the house, a full five stories up, and gulped. "Maybe not," he suggested, looking at Charlie hopefully. Charlie laughed.

"Charmeleon does look strong though," Charlie said, turning to examine the Pokémon. "I would love to battle against him."

"Charmeleon," Charmeleon said, ready and raring to go. Harry was more hesitant.

"A battle, with Charizard?" Harry asked, eyeing the Pokémon warily. It looked really strong.

Charlie too glanced at Charizard. "Eh, no," Charlie told him. "Charizard has a lot more experience than Charmeleon and I think it is a morally grey area to pit a Pokémon against its evolved form." Charlie pulled out a Pokéball from his belt. "I do have another Pokémon though who's itching for a battle."

Harry grinned. "Alright," he said. "Where do we battle?"

He was led away from the house and through the trees that surrounded it on all sides. Up until this point Harry had battled with Ron and the twins but they'd always done it in the Weasley's back garden. Harry anticipated Charlie's Pokémon would have far more dangerous and damaging attacks.

They didn't have to walk far though until they reached a large clearing and Charlie quickly moved to one end and Harry the other.

"Ready?" Charlie asked, holding out his Pokéball. Harry nodded as Charmeleon stood before him, hyped for battle. "Alright, Noivern, lets go!"

A large winged creature with purple and black colouring and a large pair of speaker-like ears appeared, flying up in the air above Charlie. Harry pulled out his Pokédex and pointed it at the Pokémon.

"Noivern, the Sound Wave Pokémon," it said. "They fly around on moonless nights and attack careless prey. Nothing can beat them in a battle in the dark."

Harry frowned.

"So that's what Noibat evolves into," he said. "We need to be careful about those ears Charmander, that Noibat I used in first year had a really powerful Supersonic attack." Charmeleon nodded.

"Will someone make the first move!" Fred yelled from the sidelines. "We're getting bored over here!"

Harry and Charlie responded at the same time.

"Charmeleon, use Flamethrower!" Charmeleon blasted out a powerful jet of fire which burned its way through the air towards Noivern.

"Noivern, Boomburst!" Noivern lowered its head and a sound wave energy burst from it. The energy flew straight into a collision course with Charmeleon's Flamethrower and the two attacks clashed, each battling for dominance. For a moment it looked like a stalemate before the Boomburst broke through the flames, going on to strike Charmeleon viciously, causing the Pokémon to be pushed back along the ground.

"Charmeleon, are you okay?" Harry gasped, surprised at how easily Noivern's attack had overpowered his Pokémon. Charmeleon nodded, straightening up and giving a challenging cry.

"So he's a fighter," Charlie commented. "Good, that's the way I like them." Noivern voiced his agreement. "Dragon Pulse!"

"Charmeleon, dodge it!" Harry called. Charmeleon launched himself forward, twisting and just managing to avoid the pulse of energy from the dragon type. "Now Metal Claw!" Charmeleon charged forwards, his newest move causing his claws to glow brightly.

"Gust!" Charlie called. Noivern flapped his wings and a violent wind emerged, blowing throughout the clearing and causing each of the trainers to brace themselves. Charmeleon, caught in this attack, slowed to a halt, using his claws to protect his face.

"Now Noivern, lets finish this!" Charlie called and Noivern cried out in agreement.

"Charmeleon quick, use Smokescreen!" Harry called and Charmeleon obeyed, spreading out a cloud of smoke across the battlefield and obscuring everyone's vision. Charlie chuckled.

"Acrobatics!" he shouted and Noivern flew up into the air and descended towards the smoke, flying in a zig zag pattern before disappearing from view. A second later there was a cry and Noivern emerged, Charmeleon flattened against it as he took the attack and was thrown back at Harry's feet.

"Charmeleon," Harry said in shock, crouching down next to his Pokémon who looked really beat up.

"I think that's enough," Charlie announced. Noivern flew back to his side and he petted the dragon type before he walked across to Harry.

"How did Noivern do that?" Harry asked, still cradling Charmeleon who was looking a bit drowsy.

"Noivern's ears use ultrasonic waves to sense where things are," Charlie told him, kneeling down to check on Charmeleon. "He doesn't need his eyes to see."

"Wow," Harry said, looking at Noivern in amazement. Charlie just smiled.

"Charmeleon will be fine," he reported, straightening up and pulling from his backpack a small potion bottle. "Just give him a little of this and some rest and he should be good as new."

"Thanks Charlie," Harry said appreciatively. Charmeleon murmured his thanks too.

"That's was incredible!" Ron, Ginny, Fred and George had approached.

"Amazing to think this was once a whiny little Noibat," Fred commented, punching Noivern on the arm. Noivern growled at him.

"Me next," Ron said excitedly. "I want to show you what my Arcanine can do." Arcanine barked in agreement, wagging his tail happily.

"I suppose Noivern can go for one more battle," Charlie said, glancing at Noivern.

"I want to fight Charizard," Ron complained. Charlie rolled his eyes.

"If I've told you once I've told you a thousand times," he said in a long suffering voice. "Charizard is too strong for a twelve year old like you. I don't even let Fred and George take him on."

"But I've got a plan," Ron said firmly. "Come on, please?" Charlie sighed.

"Alright," Charlie admitted defeat. "Here we go then."

"I wonder what strategy Ron was talking about," George said once he, Fred, Harry and Ginny had returned to the relative safety of the edge of the clearing.

"It'll be Flash Fire," Harry said, confident of what Ron was thinking as Charlie called out his Charizard. "It blocks fire type moves and ups the power of Arcanine's fire type attacks."

"Oh," George said in surprise. He actually seemed quite impressed.

"He'll still get creamed," Fred said, watching as the battle begun.

As the two Pokémon faced off Harry glanced over to Ginny.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked. Ginny blushed immediately when she noticed he was speaking to her but she didn't hide her face behind her hair which was a vast improvement on the way she'd acted when Harry had first moved to the Burrow.

"Yeah," she said, nodding.

"I'm sorry about everything that's happened," Harry said genuinely. It couldn't be nice for her first experience in the Pokémon school to be this. "Hogwarts usually isn't like this."

Ginny nodded but said nothing. Truthfully Harry wasn't even sure he was being entirely honest either. Last year they'd had Ursaring on the loose, a Hydreigon in the third floor corridor and Voldemort, possessing one of their teachers.

"Have you made any friends?" he asked, trying to focus away from the drama.

"Some," Ginny muttered. "I hang around with Luna, mostly. I liked Colin too, but…" she tailed off. That wound seemed a little too raw.

"Ohhh!" Fred and George cried as Charizard scored a big hit on Arcanine, sending him flying back to Ron. At the same time the door to the Burrow, just visible through the trees, opened and Mrs Weasley came striding out.

"What's all this?" she called as she reached the clearing. Her children all jumped at her voice. "Charlie, why didn't you tell us you were here?"

Charlie rubbed his neck guiltily. "Sorry mum," he said. "I got in a battle with Harry and then Ron-"

"No excuses," Mrs Weasley said sternly. "Now all of you come inside and have some breakfast. You can continue this battle later."

* * *

The last few days at the Burrow were fun.

Charlie, Harry found, was an incredibly likeable guy. He entertained his siblings with stories of his adventures in Romania where he worked as a dragon keeper and he laughed heartily at Fred and George's humorous tales from school.

What's more his Pokémon were incredible. Harry hadn't seen a group of Pokémon more impressive than when Charlie had let all six of his Pokémon out to say hello.

On top of Charizard and Noivern Charlie had a Haxorus, a Druddigon, a Kingdra, and a Salamence, all, apart from Charizard, Dragon type Pokémon and all incredibly strong. As it turned out Noivern was the baby of the group, having been caught only months before Charlie had left Hogwarts in his final year.

Eventually, however, they had to say goodbye and head back up to Hogwarts, a prospect that Harry usually would have been thrilled for but instead approached with a feeling of dread.

Charlie accompanied them to Kings Cross and wished them all luck, telling Harry how nice it was to meet him, and then, after a round of hugs from Mrs Weasley, they were all aboard the Hogwarts Express and leaving Charlie, Mrs Weasley and Platform Nine and Three Quarters behind.

"So," Fred said as Mrs Weasley and Charlie disappeared from view. "Back to Hogwarts." There was a grim note to his voice.

"We should go find Hermione," Harry told Ron and together they headed off, peeking into compartments until they eventually came across the one with Hermione, and also Neville too.

"Hey," Harry greeted as they walked inside. Hermione and Neville returned the greeting, HootHoot, Ivysaur and Trevor the Croagunk making noises of hello too as Harry let out Charmeleon and Fletchinder and Ron let out Squirtle and Scabbers, Arcanine now being too big for the compartment.

The train journey passed by in relative silence, with only occasional attempts at conversation being made before petering out. Outside the compartment window rain started to lash down and the sky darkened quickly, leaving them lit by only the low glow of the torches.

"I almost don't want to go back," Ron murmured as they came to a stop and the four second years made their way off the train. "What if someone else is attacked?" Neville let out a tiny squeak, going very pale.

"Hey, there's Hagrid," Harry said, pointing out the figure of the giant man as he directed students towards the carriages. The rain was still coming down heavily and so the students were wasting no time in getting into shelter as the platform cleared quickly.

"Alright there, Harry?" Hagrid asked, strolling towards them as the last of the students headed off to Hogwarts. "Yeh not a bit cold?"

"Freezing," Ron complained. They had bundled up warm before stepping outside but the rain had soaked through many of their layers and now they were shivering fiercely.

"Yeh should get up ter the castle," Hagrid told them. "We've got one last carriage 'ere. Get in, get in." He shepherd them into the last remaining carriage, pulled by a pair of very well behaved Zebstricka, and set off up to the Hogwarts gates, Hagrid walking along side them.

"Yer not lookin' very glad ter be back," Hagrid commented, glancing at Harry's expression as Hogwarts castle came into view. Harry shook his head.

"I'm just worried," he said.

Hagrid nodded. "I know, I know," he said. "But I assure yeh, Dumbledore has done everything he can to protect yeh all now that yer back."

"How?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"Well, while you's were all gone fer the holidays he had every inch of the castle searched," Hagrid told them.

"Why did he do that?" Ron asked.

"Ter try an' find the Chamber of Secrets, o' course," Hagrid replied. "He even had me and Fang go sniffin' fer it but nothin' doin'."

"So they still don't know who did it?" Ron asked.

Hagrid shook his head. "Dumbledore's got an idea," he said. "Just not sure how he's doin' it."

"You mean Voldemort, don't you?" Harry asked. Ron and Neville let out noises of protest and Hagrid positively jumped.

"Don't go sayin' the name, Harry. What's the matter with yeh?" Hagrid scolded, looking as though he'd been given quite a shock.

"Sorry," Harry said meekly. He'd forgotten just how much people feared Voldemort's name. "But was I right? Does Dumbledore think it is… You-know-who?"

Hagrid nodded grimly. "Tha's right, Harry," he said. "Ever since yeh proved he was still alive last year we've been on the lookout, an' this has got 'is fingerprints all over it."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"He was behind it last time, that's what I mean," Hagrid told her. Hermione frowned.

"But Percy said the person responsible for the attacks last time was caught," she said. "So it couldn't have been You-know-who." Hagrid shook his head.

"That's just what history tells yeh," Hagrid said. "Truth is the real culprit was never caught but after the girl died - Myrtle, her name was - after she died they needed to do somethin', so someone else took the blame."

"That's awful," Neville said quietly.

"But Hagrid," Hermione said, frowning. "How could you know that?" Hagrid let out an awkward cough.

"Eh, well," his face flushed. "Ter tell the truth I studied here, at 'ogwarts, way back then. I was just a third year when it all happened. Here we are."

Harry was brought back to the present with a surprise as he realised that they made it all the way up to the castle without him noticing.

"Inside, the lot of yeh," Hagrid said, opening the carriage door and sweeping them out. Harry wanted to stop and talk to Hagrid, he hadn't realised Hagrid had been there the last time the Chamber of Secrets had been opened, but Hagrid turned a deaf ear to Harry's inquiries and soon left them to join the staff table.

"I can't believe it," Ron said. "All that time worrying about asking Percy about the Chamber of Secrets and we could've just spoken to Hagrid instead."

"Do you think he's telling the truth?" Hermione asked sceptically.

"I don't see why he'd lie," Harry countered, though equally he wondered how reliable Hagrid's source was. Still, it made sense that someone else took the fall for Voldemort first time around, otherwise it would have been common knowledge as to just who had opened the Chamber of Secrets.

"You know what I think's most impressive," Ron said, taking a massively spoonful of mashed potatoes. "Hagrid was at school when the Chamber was last open, and that was fifty years ago. That would make Hagrid, what, sixty three." Harry, Ron and Hermione looked up at the staff table to where Hagrid was laughing with Professor Flitwick, his shaggy black hair dripping with rain water over his meal. He certainly didn't look like an old man.


	11. Valentine's Day

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

Over the next few days it became apparent as to just what Hagrid had meant when he said that Dumbledore was doing everything to protect them. While before the students had got used to the sight of Pokémon standing guard over the common rooms at all hours of the day and night, Harry was now starting to notice even more Pokémon guarding various other places around the school, most notably any corridor with a classroom in it and the entrances to the library and Hospital Wing.

The added security seemed to encourage most of the school that things were being done to protect them but that didn't mean they were no longer wary. No one walked alone, most people choosing to move around in groups of three or four at a minimum, and even with the increased security students still spent most of their time in their respective common rooms, which had remained something of a safe space as the year went on.

Interestingly it seemed as though the search for the Chamber of Secrets had not been put on hold due to the arrival of the students. Whilst the teachers still took their classes they could often be seen outside of school hours patrolling random hallways in the castle. Hagrid was the most obvious one to do this as he was seen almost constantly patrolling the school with Fang the Mightyena by his side.

Ron had offered Arcanine to help. Hagrid had warned him it was too dangerous.

Despite everything that was different about Hogwarts Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the rest of the student body started to fall back into a routine. Their professors continued to teach and did not let up on the homework, despite the fact that they now had more limited time to mark them. Moreover, for Harry at least, Quidditch practice continued as it always did. Three times a week, no exceptions. Ravenclaw versus Slytherin was fast approaching and the familiar buzz of pre-match enthusiasm started to make itself known in the hallways.

The thin veneer of normality was sharply shattered one Sunday when the school woke up to find itself covered in hearts.

"What the hell!" Ron shouted as he, Hermione and Harry exited the Gryffindor Common Room to find an explosion of pink outside. "Just what in the name of Arceus is going on out here?" The two Machoke standing guard of Gryffindor Tower seemed to share his sentiments.

Hermione, however, blushed.

"It's Valentine's Day," Hermione reminded them, causing Harry and Ron to look at her.

"What?"

Hermione huffed. "Oh, come on, you must have heard of Valentine's Day," she demanded.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Of course I've heard about it," he grumbled. "Mum always used to send me a card," he admitted. His ears went pink.

"Aw, that's so cute," Hermione positively fawned, making Ron go even redder.

Harry too was aware of exactly what Valentine's Day was and though he'd never celebrated it he definitely thought that Mrs Weasley sending Ron a Valentine's card sounded a lot cuter than the way Aunt Petunia treated Dudley on the day of love. In many ways it was like the second coming of Christmas in the Dursley household.

"Why are all these decorations up?" Harry questioned, trying to spare Ron some embarrassment. He looked ready to melt into the floor. "We didn't have this last year."

The answer to that question came at breakfast where, standing beaming from the staff table, was Gilderoy Lockhart, dressed in the most horrible lurid pink outfit Harry had ever seen. The only thing it had going for it was that it matched perfectly the decorations that surrounded every square inch of the Great Hall.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" Lockhart shouted to the whole hall, giving a smile that showed each and every one of his glittering pearly white teeth. "The day of love, my favourite day of the year! And may I thank the forty six people who have sent me cards already this morning!" He winked at the hall at large. Judging from the reaction Harry was pretty sure he could guess just which of the students had been among the forty six to send Lockhart cards.

"Fear not, dear students, this is far from the end of the festivities!" Lockhart continued and, with a loud clap, the doors off to the side of the room where food usually was distributed opened and dozens of Pokémon came flying out.

"Say hello to your Valentine's Day cupids!" Lockhart shouted. "Delibird! Volbeat! Illumise!" He added theatrically. "These Pokémon will be spreading the Valentine's Day love by delivering your cards to your special Valentine!" He winked again.

"If anyone sends me a card I'm going to hide in the dormitory for the rest of the day," Ron declared firmly.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about that," came Hermione's waspish reply.

"But wait! There's more!" Lockhart cut through what certainly seemed like a brewing argument between the two. "In the spirit of raising morale during these troubled times I've roped in a few of my colleagues to help me with the day's festivities!" He beamed.

"Please prepare yourselves!" he told them and again he clapped his hands. This time a massive swarm of Pokémon, Beautifly, Butterfree, Vivillon, and more, flew down from the high ceiling, lighting up the hall with colour as small scraps of paper flittered down towards the students.

"He didn't really think that through," Hermione commented as she lifted a completely ruined piece from her orange juice. Ron simply glared at the mess that had piled up on top of his breakfast.

"That's it, I'm staying in my dormitory," he said through gritted teeth. "Nothing is worth this." Harry frowned.

"You know, this isn't so bad," he said, reading from a scrap of paper that had fallen into his lap. It was a schedule of sorts.

"The teachers are doing classes throughout the day," Hermione said excitedly, having found a copy herself. "Potions to cure infatuation with Snape,-"

"No way," Ron said immediately.

"Love inducing Pokémon moves with Flitwick," Hermione continued as though Ron hadn't said anything. "And gender differences with McGonagall."

"And there's a battle tournament in the evening," Harry pointed out. This peaked Ron's interest.

"A battle tournament?" he said. "Really?"

"For any student that wishes to enter, a one-on-one knock out style battling tournament is to take place in the Great Hall after dinner," Harry read.

"Awesome!" Ron shouted. "Sign me up. Arcanine and I are going to kill it."

The idea of a battle tournament certainly interested Harry and he, along with Ron, Hermione and even Dean and Seamus all signed up to take part before leaving the Great Hall and heading back to their common rooms to relax and do some homework.

As the day wore on Lockhart's Valentine cupids flitted in and out of Gryffindor Tower, delivering cards to a large portion of the Gryffindor populace, which Harry later found out was because of a prank pulled off by Fred and George Weasley. Harry himself had received three different cards that morning, one of which he was sure was from Ginny, which Ron found highly amusing until a Delibird landed on the table in front of him and handed him a card that could only have come from Luna.

"She's mad," he muttered hopelessly as he looked at the handwritten card, decorated with pictures of creatures that Harry had never seen before but which Hermione insisted weren't real.

The classes were interesting too. Harry and Ron flat out refused to accompany Hermione to Snape's class, not wanting to spend any more time in the foul man's company than necessary, but they did come along to hear what Flitwick and McGonagall had to say and found that what they learned was both interesting and, in the case of Flitwick's class, quite fun.

But really the highlight of the day was always going to be the battle tournament. After dinner those who had signed up, and that seemed to be most of the school, all waited impatiently out in the Entrance Hall as the house and staff tables in the Great Hall were removed until, finally, they were let back in.

The room was bare, startling Harry as to just how big it actually was, but erected in the very centre of the room was a podium and on that podium stood Professor Lockhart. He'd abandoned his all pink suit for what looked like a more sleek design and Harry had to wonder if this was Lockhart's interpretation of 'battle clothes'.

"Welcome! Welcome! Come on everyone, get in here!" Lockhart called to the students as they started milling around the podium. "Excellent! What a turn out! I assume everyone can see me!" There were a few murmurs and nods from the crowd. "And you can all hear me, too!"

"Now!" he said dramatically. "In light of recent events at Hogwarts I thought it would be a good idea to arrange something to teach you all just a little bit about competitive Pokémon battling! And who else do I have to help me with my demonstration this evening? Why, none other than Professor Snape!"

Lockhart gestured to the back of the room dramatically and Harry looked over in surprise to find Snape loitering silent at the back of the hall. He hadn't noticed him when he'd walked in, too easily drawn to the bright peacock that was Gilderoy Lockhart.

"Let's begin!" Lockhart shouted and he leapt down from his podium, stumbling a bit on landing before he moved to stand at a certain spot on the floor. Snape, meanwhile, simply walked forwards, the crowd of students parting before him as he stood opposite Lockhart. It was only then, as the students all scuttled out of the way, that Harry realised a battlefield had been drawn on the ground with white chalk, Lockhart on one side and Snape on the other.

"Now! In competitive one-on-one battling each trainer chooses their Pokémon at the same time!" Lockhart said. "Naturally, I'm going with Hawlucha, which gives Professor Snape the advantage! But fear not, I am more than capable of dealing with anything he throws at me!" Hawlucha soared down dramatically from the rafters, having been hiding up there awaiting his cue, and landed on the battlefield, striking a pose.

The corner of Snape's mouth curled in a sneer. For once in their combined existence it appeared that Harry and Snape agreed about something, and that was that Lockhart needed to be taken down a peg or two.

"Drapion," he called. The poison and dark type who Harry had first seen on Halloween in first year appeared on the battlefield, eyes finding its prey, claws clinking menacingly.

"On the count of three, we will begin!" Lockhart announced. "One! Two! Three! Karate Chop, Hawlucha!" Hawlucha charged forward, his arm glowing with energy as he neared his target.

"Duck," Snape's command was succinct and Drapion responded immediately, dropping its head suddenly and causing Hawlucha to soar over without making contact. Without warning, Drapion's tail suddenly reached out and clamped around Hawlucha, pinning his arms by his sides and completely immobilising him.

"Hawlucha!" Lockhart shouted in alarm.

"Toss him," Snape commanded easily and Drapion did so, throwing the light Pokémon across the battlefield to crash into the ground.

"Hawlucha, are you alright?" Lockhart was worried but Hawlucha jumped back to his feet, flexing his muscles. "Alright, you won't back down!" Clearly he hadn't lost any of his confidence after his loss to Harry. "Use Hi Jump Kick!"

"Block with Cross Poison," Snape commanded. Hawlucha came flying down towards Drapion who held his pincers crossed in preparation. The two attacks hit each other with force and Hawlucha was sent flying into the air.

"Flying Press!" Lockhart shouted and up above Hawlucha straightened out and soared back down.

"Pin Missile." Drapion fired the attack up towards Hawlucha, striking him forcefully in the chest and sending him into free fall. "Now Knock Off." Drapion swung a pincer, glowing with dark energy, and Hawlucha was slammed across the room and into the ground. He did not get up.

"Well, there you have it," Lockhart said awkwardly, returning Hawlucha after a moments silence. "Obviously Professor Snape is much more proficient than I thought or I would have brought my A game." He winked at a few of the girls in the front of the crowd.

"Now why don't you all start battling yourselves," he told them. "There's a chart showing who you've been matched up against and where you'll be battling. I will tell you when to begin."

"Did you see that," Ron murmured as he, Harry and Hermione waited their turn to check the chart. "Snape just demolished Lockhart. He could have done it with one hit."

"I guess Snape wanted to prove a point," Harry said. "Not that Lockhart is ever going to admit that someone is stronger than him." They reached the chart and after a quick search Harry found his name in the top left corner, where his opponent, Dean, was waiting.

It wasn't really a fair fight, Harry thought as Hariyama was knocked flat on his back and stayed down. Harry knew that Dean only had one Pokémon and that meant that he could choose between either of his, and his Fletchinder had a type advantage.

Elsewhere battles were still going on. Seamus and his Monferno were in a real slugfest of a fight with a third year Hufflepuff and his Ambipom while in the distance Harry could see Fred's Volbeat flying through the air, his opponent unseen but firing off electric attacks at the bug type.

Right next to Harry, Ron and Hermione were having a heated battled.

"Arcanine, use Flame Wheel!" Ron shouted, rubbing sweat from his forehead.

"HootHoot, use Reflect!" Hermione commanded. as Arcanine charge forward, surrounded by fire, he hit an invisible barrier and was forced back.

"Flamethrower, Arcanine!"

"Confusion!"

The jet of flames fired at the bird Pokémon seemed to split apart in midair and splay out in all directions. By now even the trainers next to them had grown to notice the increased heat as a result of all of Arcanine's attacks, which Hermione just kept deflecting.

"Go into it with Flame Wheel!" Ron called and Arcanine charged forwards into the flame, the fire not seeming to effect him at all as he ran right through it, breaking HootHoot's Confusion attack and crashing into the small Pokémon with tremendous power. HootHoot was out for the count.

"Yes!" Ron shouted, punching the air. "We did it, Arcanine!" Arcanine jumped over and leapt on top of Ron licking the redhead's face thoroughly despite Ron's attempts to throw him off.

"It seems as though we have our winners from the first round!" Lockhart called out and indeed it appeared as though all the battles were over, some trainers looking triumphant, others disappointed. "Everyone stay where you are and Professor Snape and myself will come match you up with your next opponent!"

"Tough luck Seamus," Dean said as the Irish boy wandered over. "I thought you had him." Seamus shrugged.

"Harry!" Lockhart said cheerfully. "Harry! Harry! Harry! I should have known! I could see the potential in you, just like your parents." Harry's insides churned. To listen to this guy was testing his patience.

"Come with me, Harry," Lockhart said, leading him away. "You're on the battlefield right over here," he led him to his spot. "Good luck."

Harry nodded stiffly before looking over at the other end of the battlefield. That's when he got his next shock.

Draco Malfoy was standing across from him, a scowl on his face as he stared intently at Harry, his next opponent. Harry had not anticipated this.

"Alright, begin!" Lockhart's voice called out and Harry and Draco both reached for their Pokéballs at the same time, threw them together, and their Pokémon appeared simultaneously before them, Charmeleon on Harry's side, Servine on Malfoy's.

Ok, Harry thought, I have type advantage.

But type advantage wasn't going to mean much against Malfoy. They hadn't battled like this before but they had faced off against each other on the Quidditch pitch and while Harry had won on the day this was an entirely different game.

"Servine, Leaf Storm!" Malfoy called out confidently. He certainly thought he could win. A storm of leaves whipped up around Servine and flew towards Charmeleon.

"Charmeleon, counter with Fire Spin!" Harry shouted. The fire type attack countered the Leaf Storm perfectly. But as the fire ended and the burnt leaves fell to the ground Harry realised he'd been tricked.

"Slam, Servine!" Servine had used the cover of the attacks to move in close and he took the opportunity to strike out at Charmeleon, sending him flying away to land painfully on his back.

"Charmeleon, are you okay?" Harry asked. Charmeleon stood up and nodded, before turning back to the battlefield. It was clear to Harry that Charmeleon had no intention of losing. "Flamethrower!"

The blast of fire sprang forward and Harry knew that if it made contact it would do major damage.

"Vine Whip and dodge!" Malfoy commanded and, to Harry's shock, Servine struck the ground with his Vine Whip attack, throwing himself high into the air. "Now Leaf Blade!" Servine moved forward, spinning rapidly as his tail glowed green.

"Block with Metal Claw!" Harry called and Charmeleon obeyed, holding up two glowing claws to take the force of the attack. Servine struck with power and Charmeleon found himself being pushed back, but he kept his footing. "Now, Dragon Rage!"

Harry had never called this attack in battle before but he knew Charmeleon was capable of pulling it off. The flame on Charmeleon's tail grew larger and a ball of dangerous orange energy formed in his mouth. Servine was too close to dodge and the attack hit him with full force, blowing him across the battlefield like a rag doll.

Servine scrambled to his feet. He wouldn't go down that easy. He stood ready, breathing heavily as he faced down Charmeleon who was likewise breathing hard. Both Pokémon had taken significant damage in their all offence approach.

Then Servine became surrounded by a faint green aura.

"Yes," Malfoy hissed softly. "Overgrow."

Harry had heard about the ability Overgrow before, but he had never seen it in action. Servine looked beat up and ragged but he faced Charmeleon with fierce determination and an unwavering stare.

But Charmeleon would not back down. He growled deeply and the flame on his tail grew brighter. His body seemed to glow with a red aura as his own ability activated. Blaze.

"One last attack?" Harry asked his Pokémon. Charmeleon nodded, his attention focused solely on the Pokémon opposite him. "Alright, Charmeleon, use Flamethrower!" The flame burned brighter than it ever had before and Harry himself could feel the intense heat as the fire blasted its way across the battlefield towards Servine.

"Servine, Leaf Storm!" Malfoy called, no longer looking the calm and composed boy he had a few minutes ago. He was into this battle as much as Harry was. Servine responded, the blast of leaves thundering across the battlefield to meet the Flamethrower attack.

The two attacks collided with tremendous force, causing a shockwave to ripple through the hall, drawing the attention of the few who hadn't already been caught up in the fight. The two attacks pushed against each other as the two Pokémon using them put every last ounce of energy into one last push.

Eventually something had to give way and in this battle it was Servine. The Leaf Storm attack suddenly failed and the Flamethrower flew on unopposed, striking the unprotected Servine with enormous power, causing a huge blast to blow out across the room.

As the smoke cleared Servine was revealed, and he was unconscious.


	12. Cancelled

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

Over the next few weeks Harry and Malfoy's battle would be one of the main topics of conversation around the castle. Everywhere Harry went he found himself being congratulated by his fellow students, excited muttering breaking out in whatever room he happened to be in.

Malfoy hadn't exactly faired badly either. Despite having lost the crucial battle against Harry many people were impressed with his Servine for going toe to toe against a Pokémon that had an overwhelming advantage in type. The attention seemed to mollify Malfoy slightly but he still glared daggers at Harry whenever the two bumped into each other, his enmity towards him not abating one bit. It didn't help now that the whole school had become aware of the rivalry between Harry and Malfoy.

On the whole the Valentine's Day festivities were considered to be a success, with many students hoping that the battle tournament in particular could become a regular thing at Hogwarts.

Harry hadn't won the tournament, getting knocked out in his next battle to a fourth year Ravenclaw and his Luxio. Ron, too, hadn't got any further, falling to a third year Gryffindor boy by the name of McClaggen and his Rhydon.

The actual winner of the tournament had been a sixth year from Hufflepuff and he was all in favour of another tournament where he could have the chance to 'defend his title'.

In the end the tournament had provided exactly what it needed to in terms of morale. Before Hogwarts had been quiet. No one did anything out of the ordinary for fear that it would leave them vulnerable to attack. After, Hogwarts was more like Harry was used to. There was conversation in the halls again, a lot more joking around and friendly rivalry, and, most importantly, the Quidditch season had restarted.

Slytherin defeated Ravenclaw in the first match back after the Christmas break, the Slytherin Vigoroth just dominating their Ravenclaw counterparts such that, even if Malfoy hadn't caught the snitch, the score would still have swung strongly in Slytherin's favour.

Wood felt that this was good news for the Gryffindor team as they could win the cup provided they beat Hufflepuff and didn't lose when they faced Ravenclaw at the end of the year. The Hufflepuff team wasn't well regarded among the students and it seemed almost guaranteed that Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Slytherin would all win comfortably but Wood refused to let up, repeating the mantra that the only way they lose is if they don't take Hufflepuff seriously, and while this didn't quite convince the rest of the team that Hufflepuff would be anything other than a practice for the Ravenclaw game they still worked hard, determined that this year they would win the cup at last.

And the first step would be to defeat Hufflepuff, which is what Harry was planning on doing later this very afternoon as he got himself dressed on the Saturday morning of the Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff Quidditch match.

"I'm not saying you're wrong, Ron," he said, pulling a shirt over his head. "I'm just saying I don't believe it."

Ron, who was lying on his bed, scowled. "It's as good an explanation as any," he countered bullishly. "He is a poison type Pokémon trainer. It makes perfect sense."

Since the battle tournament on Valentine's Day Ron had got it into his head that it must have been Snape who had carried out the attacks on Mrs Norris, Colin Creevey and Justin Finch-Fletchley. He based his arguments off the fact that Snape raised poison type Pokémon, that he hated everyone so had suitable motive, and that people trusted him enough for him to get away with it.

Harry didn't agree with much of this, remembering only too well how they'd been suspicious of Snape when they got wind that someone was trying to steal the Sacred Ash. They'd been proven wrong then and much the same arguments Harry had made back then were being repeated by Ron now.

There had been some news about the attacks but it didn't have anything to do with who was responsible.

Madam Pomfrey, after endless research into ways to counteract the venom that had been inflicted on the victims, had come to the conclusion that a special remedy needed to be made to counteract the poisoning, one that was determined based on exactly what type of Pokémon had inflicted the poison.

All students with poison type Pokémon had been required to submit their Pokémon for checks. Neville was one of these trainers, with both his Croagunk, Trevor, and his Ivysaur being poison types. He had explained to his dorm mates just what Madam Pomfrey was attempting after being called to see her, leaving Dean to comment that it seemed a good idea as he wasn't entirely certain Trevor would be completely innocent. Trevor had responded to the criticism by giving one long croak.

At that very moment Neville appeared in the dormitory, his face flushed happily, causing all four of the boys already in the room to look at him.

"What's up, Nev?" Dean asked, pulling on his socks.

"I got a Pokémon," Neville said excitedly, much to the rooms surprise, holding out a Pokéball.

"Congratulations," Harry told him, the others repeating the sentiment as Neville beamed. "What did you catch?"

"I'll show you," Neville said excitedly. He tossed the Pokéball and the Pokémon appeared, a green, bug-like creature that stood about as tall as they were. It had a pair of wings on its back and instead of arms it had two wicked looking blades.

"It's a Scyther!" Neville said excitedly, looking at his new Pokémon in adoration. Harry reached over to his bedside table and grabbed his Pokédex.

"Scyther, the Mantis Pokémon. With ninja like agility and speed it can create the illusion that there is more than one."

"That sounds so cool," Dean said, getting up to have a look at Scyther, who backed up uncertainly.

"It's okay, Scyther," Neville told him. "This is Dean, he's my friend." Scyther approached Dean slowly, still uncertain, but allowed Dean to pet his head.

"Where'd you catch him?" Dean asked, Scyther seeming to enjoy the attention he got.

"In the forest," Neville told him. "I was in there looking for berries for Professor Sprout's class and I bumped into him. I know bug type Pokémon are strong against poison types so I thought he could be useful if there are any more attacks."

Harry and Ron looked at each other.

"Eh," Ron said. "I hate to break it to you Neville, but poison types aren't weak to bug types."

"They're not?!" Neville gasped, looking horrified. Harry sadly shook his head.

"They're strong against psychic type Pokémon," Harry elaborated. "And _they_ are strong against poison types so if you wanted to catch a psychic type…" he trailed off.

Dean chuckled. "I like this guy," he said as he petted Scyther's head. "I reckon he's a good Pokémon for you Neville."

"You think?" Neville asked nervously. His excitement was now replaced with crippling uncertainty.

"Definitely," Dean said. "Why don't we introduce him to everyone?" Dean's Hariyama and Seamus's Monferno were already out of their Pokéballs, as were Ron's Arcanine and Wartortle and Charmeleon and Fletchinder, leaving only Neville to release the rest of his Pokémon.

"It's nice to meet you, Scyther," Harry said, approaching with Charmeleon and Fletchinder, who voiced their agreement. Sounds of greeting echoed throughout the dorm as all the Pokémon friendly welcomed Scyther into their group.

"Scyther!" Scyther cried happily, waving his arms in the air and almost decapitating Harry with the razor sharp blades.

"Watch it!" Ron shouted. "It'll be pretty bad if we offed our Seeker right before the match."

"Thanks for the support," Harry said dryly but Ron had reminded Harry that he was in a bit of a rush and so he quickly finished getting changed and he and Ron went down to the Common Room where they met Hermione and began their journey down to the Great Hall.

"A Scyther, oh how wonderful," Hermione said excitedly as Harry told her the story of what had happened in the boys dorms. "Scyther are such fascinating Pokémon, don't you think? The way they can use the blades on their arms is quite incredible."

"Yeah, Neville's almost took Harry's head off," Ron told her, rolling his eyes at her excitement.

"I don't think that would be a good idea," a dreamy voice stated, surprising the trio. "I don't think he'd be very good at catching the snitch without his head."

Luna Lovegood was standing before them, having appeared unnoticed while they were talking. She looked just as Harry remembered from the train ride to Hogwarts, still wearing the enormous glasses and the cork necklace with her Eevee, Pandora, held in her arms.

"Hi Luna," Harry greeted, getting over his surprise first. "What are you doing round here?" They had not travelled far from the Gryffindor Common Room and it was incredibly rare for a Ravenclaw, whose common room was on the other side of the castle, to be seen around here.

"Oh, I was just going to meet Ginny," Luna said airily. "We were going to walk down to breakfast together but it seems like she's already gone down." There didn't seem to be any disappointment in Luna's voice at Ginny having forgotten their plan.

"Eh, why don't you come down with us instead?" Harry suggested. Next to him, Ron looked at him as though he'd said something crazy. Luna smiled.

"I don't think that's a good idea," she told him. "I'm sure the Gryffindors won't be happy with a Ravenclaw joining them for breakfast on a day like this, especially with their star Seeker. You are very good you know."

"Uh, thank you," Harry said. Luna's unusual speech style was something Harry had to try and get used to.

"The Ravenclaws don't want you to win," Luna told him unexpectedly. "They think if you lose they have a better chance of winning the cup."

"Eh, I suppose that makes sense," Harry said awkwardly. Truthfully this surprised him as Ravenclaw had already lost to Slytherin, making it very unlikely they were still in the running for the cup. "But I don't think your housemates will be very happy that you're giving away their secrets."

Luna smiled. "But you're my friend," she said simply. The simplicity of the statement stunned Harry.

"You should be getting down to the pitch," Luna said, as though she hadn't said anything unusual. "It won't be long until the match starts." And, with little more than a wave, Luna walked away and disappeared from view. Ron let out a breath.

"That," he said. "Was a close one." He took a couple of deep breaths. "Blimey Harry, why did you have to go invite her to breakfast?"

"I thought that was very nice of you," Hermione said firmly before Harry could respond, giving Ron a sharp look. "It doesn't seem like Luna has been able to make many friends, I've only ever seen her around Ginny lately."

Ron just shrugged. Clearly, he didn't want to have this conversation.

"Luna wasn't wrong about the match though," Harry said. "We don't have that much time to get down there. I think we'll have to skip breakfast." Ron groaned.

The three of them continued forward but were brought to a stop for a second time in quick succession, this time for a much more daunting reason.

Absol stood before them, as silent and unmoving as he'd always been, and Harry, Ron and Hermione stopped dead. There was no doubt now as to what this meant, they knew that three times in a row wasn't a coincidence. For the first time in months Harry felt dread well up inside him.

Absol disappeared as quickly and as silently as he'd arrived, leaving the three second years alone with his warning. But what could they do? Ron gulped.

"It'll be okay," he said, though his face was white. "Everyone's down at the Quidditch pitch. If we get down there and tell Dumbledore he can sort it out."

But no matter how sound that argument may be, Harry felt like something would go wrong. Even as the three of them hurried down to the stadium and Ron and Hermione went off to the teacher's section of the stands Harry felt like it wouldn't be enough. And as Professor McGonagall walked onto the Quidditch pitch, her face pale, with a large megaphone in her hands, Harry knew that they were too late.

"Students, this match has been canceled!" McGonagall announced to the stadium at large. "Everyone should return to their dormitories at once!"

"But Professor!" Wood complained. He hadn't even let out his Snorlax yet. "The match! Quidditch!"

"There are some things in life more important than Quidditch, Mr Wood," McGonagall said stiffly. "Now if you and your team would please return to the Gryffindor Common Room?"

"Professor McGonagall," Harry said quickly. "Professor, who is it?" the others looked at him, confused. "Who's been attacked?" A sharp intake of breath was heard behind him but Harry kept his gaze firmly on Professor McGonagall. She looked taken aback, although not completely surprised.

"They were in Ravenclaw," she said, startling Harry with her use of the plural. "Ms Penelope Clearwater, a sixth year prefect, and Ms Luna Lovegood, a first year."

The name hit Harry like a tonne of bricks. He felt his legs wobble beneath him and for a moment thought he was going to lose his balance and fall. It just couldn't be true.

Yet Harry had suspected it from the moment Absol had appeared. They'd all grown complacent with the absence of incidents, assuming that the attacks had stopped, where really the attacker was just lying low, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. And Luna, poor sweet Luna, who hadn't thought twice about going down to breakfast on her own, was now consigned to a hospital bed next to the four other victims of this horrific spree of attacks.


	13. Lucius Malfoy

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

"This is terrible," Hermione moaned. They were back up in the Gryffindor Common Room, sitting with what looked to be the entire house. It had been several hours since the attack, lunch had been served, but still nobody left for their dormitories. For the most part nobody spoke.

"I know," Ron muttered. "I just wish there was something we could do. That Absol is giving us less and less notice every time it appears. We hadn't even got close to telling Dumbledore what had happened."

Harry stood up.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked warily.

"To tell Dumbledore," Harry told him. "It may not help Luna or Penelope but Dumbledore has to know about Absol." Hermione and Ron shared a look.

"But Harry," Hermione said, her voice a near whisper. "It's not safe to leave the common room." Harry shook his head.

"None of the attacks have happened on the same day as each other," he told her. "Whatever the Pokémon that's been attacking people is it's probably already hidden away in the Chamber of Secrets so nobody can find it."

"He makes sense," Ron admitted, though not looking very keen on the idea. Hermione bit her lip nervously.

"Come on, this is something we have to do," Harry told her earnestly. "If we can convince Dumbledore that Absol is giving us warnings we can prevent any more attacks, or at least catch whoever it is that's doing them."

"Whatever the case we can't do nothing," Ron agreed, seeming to gain courage from Harry's earnest. He stood up. "I'm coming." He looked at Hermione.

Hermione looked between the two of them and sighed. "Of course I'm coming," she said, starting to sound more like herself. "There's no way you'd manage to explain all this without me." Harry and Ron grinned at each other.

The castle outside the common room was eerily silent. Even the Pokémon that stood guard in certain places didn't make a sound, simply watching them as they wandered through the hallways. It seemed that so long as they didn't attack anyone in front of them they would let them pass.

None of them apart from Harry had ever been to the Headmaster's office before, and for Harry the one time he did visit he was suffering from some rather severe shock, so finding where exactly Professor Dumbledore worked while he was at the school was a lot harder than they had anticipated. And when they found it things weren't working out either.

"It's locked," Harry told them. They'd knocked, repeatedly, but had got no answer. Now that they found their path blocked it seemed more and more likely that Dumbledore wasn't in his office.

"It makes sense, I suppose," Hermione said. "He's probably out trying to catch the person who attacked Penelope and Luna."

"But then he could be anywhere," Ron said, a bit louder than he'd intended. "I mean," he continued in a quieter voice. "If they are searching the school then they'll search all of it. He could literally be anywhere in the castle."

It was a difficult problem to solve and the only thing Harry could think was the one thing they shouldn't do, and that was hang around here doing nothing.

"Let's go down to Hagrid's," he decided eventually. "He'll probably know exactly where Dumbledore is."

"If he's there," Ron added but he agreed that it was the best idea they had had so far and so the three of them continued on their way, again bumping into no one, until they had crossed the lawn, still lit by the setting sun, and made it to Hagrid's hut. And to their delight there was light showing through the windows.

They knocked on the door and there was a flurry of movement from inside, though unusually the sound of Fang, Hagrid's Mightyena, barking was not heard. A few seconds passed and then the door opened.

"Professor?" Harry said in surprise.

Albus Dumbledore, the very man they'd been looking for, was standing in the doorway. He seemed quite surprised to see them too but he smiled nevertheless.

"Harry," he greeted pleasantly. "What a pleasant surprise. And you as well, Ron and Hermione." Hermione and Ron mumbled something in return and looked embarrassed. They clearly weren't used to the Headmaster referring to them by their first names. After all, the two of them had only spoken with Dumbledore briefly in passing.

"What are you doing down here?" Dumbledore asked pleasantly. "I would have thought you would be with your housemates right now."

"What's going on Dumbledore?" a voice spoke from inside the cabin, though the owner of the voice couldn't be seen from the door.

"I suppose the three of you should come inside," Dumbledore told them, ignoring the question and ushering the three second years in.

Upon entering they immediately noticed Hagrid, sitting by the table and not looking too pleased, although he smiled at seeing them. Another man stood in the cabin, a small, portly man with a bottle green suit, rumpled grey hair and, twirling between his fingers, a lime green bowler hat.

Ron gaped.

"I suppose I should make some introductions," Dumbledore said, an amused smile playing across his face as he observed Ron's reaction. "Cornelius, these are some of our second year Gryffindor students, Mr Ronald Weasley, Ms Hermione Granger, and Mr Harry Potter."

"Potter!" The man spluttered, almost dropping his hat as he jumped and took a closer look at Harry. "No! Really?"

"Indeed," Dumbledore said, leaving it at that. "Harry, Ron, Hermione, this is Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Pokémon."

"Minister for Pokémon?" Harry repeated with interest.

"Yes," Dumbledore told him. "You see, there is an entire sector of the British government devoted to the world of Pokémon. This includes law enforcement, Pokémon licensing, and of course an education department that works with Hogwarts on ensuring our children are prepared for the outside world. Cornelius here is in charge of this entire sector, which is often referred to as the Ministry of Pokémon."

"Wow, I never knew any of that," Harry said, impressed. He'd never thought about how Pokémon were dealt with by the government but it made sense that they had their own department specifically to tackle Pokémon related problems. And, of course, that meant that Cornelius Fudge, the balding man before him, was very important.

"Nice to meet you, Minister," Harry said politely.

"Eh, yes, nice to meet you too, Mr Potter," Fudge said, looking rather awkward. "Eh, Ms Granger, was it?" he asked, looking towards Hermione, who nodded. "And, eh, Mr Weasley?" Ron nodded. "Say there's an Arthur Weasley in government, Head of the Muggle Division. Is he any relation at all?"

"Yeah, he's my dad," Ron told him. Fudge nodded, fiddling with his hat.

"Are you here because of the attacks, Minister?" Harry asked eagerly. If the Minister himself was down at Hogwarts then that meant that people were definitely taking this seriously.

Harry wasn't sure if it was his imagination, or perhaps just a certain personality trait of the Minister's, but he thought Fudge looked a bit nervous. "Eh, yes, as it happens," he muttered. "But perhaps it would be a good idea for you to be off to your dormitories, it's getting late you know."

"Oh, I don't think another few minutes will do them harm," Dumbledore said easily, smiling at Harry, Ron and Hermione. "They are, after all, here to see their good friend Hagrid. It would be a shame to send them away without giving them a chance to talk."

Harry certainly wasn't imagining it this time. Fudge was definitely not comfortable with them around and Harry couldn't understand why.

"Now see here, Dumbledore," Fudge said, sounding annoyed. "This is not the sort of business to be conducted in front of children."

"I quite agree," Dumbledore said easily. "But you know my take on the matter. I'm afraid that if you insist on removing my gamekeeper from Hogwarts you will find me most uncooperative."

"Wait, what?" Ron said, shaking his head. "Hagrid's leaving? But why?" Fudge looked very uncomfortable now.

"You've got to understand," Fudge said, though pleaded might be a more accurate description. "There's a lot of public pressure. The Ministry has got to be seen to be doing something."

"But arresting an innocent man is not something that will look good to the public," Dumbledore said simply. "Not when the true culprit is still at large, most certainly."

"Wait, arrest!" Harry said shocked. "You think Hagrid is the one attacking everyone. But why?"

Now Hagrid was the one looking awkward.

"Yeh see," he said slowly. "I never told yeh the entire truth 'bout my school years," Hagrid told them. "Yeh see, when I was in third year an' the Chamber was opened I was the one who was blamed. Everyone thought I was the one ter attack all those people… and ter kill tha' poor girl."

"Not everyone," Dumbledore said, a note of steel in his voice. "I believed Hagrid innocent then and I stand by that. You will not be taking Hagrid to Azkaban, not until you come up with some sort of proof that he is culpable."

Fudge looked at a loss. "Dumbledore," he begged. "Please. You've got to realise the position I'm in. There'll be protests, every day, if I don't do something."

"And I've said, locking up an innocent man-" but Dumbledore was cut short by a knock on the door.

"Should we be expecting anyone?" Dumbledore asked Harry, Ron and Hermione, who shook their heads. Dumbledore let out a thoughtful sound, a hand moving to stroke his beard, before taking a couple of long strides to the door before opening it.

"Dumbledore," the voice of the newcomer was slick and seemed somewhat familiar to Harry, though he couldn't decide why. "I was told you were down here. I'm glad that information was correct."

A man stepped through the doorway, without being invited, and surveyed the room with his cool grey eyes. He was tall, and thin, walking with a cane though it didn't appear he needed it. His features were aristocratic and his long blonde hair was slicked down so not a single piece was out of place.

"Lucius, what the devil are you doing here?" Fudge asked, sounding surprised, and a little relieved.

"Important business, Minister," the man, Lucius, answered smoothly. "Something I must discuss with the Headmaster." He paused. "I'm glad you're here, though. I needed to speak with you too." His eyes scanned the room and settled on Harry, Ron and Hermione. "What are these students doing here?"

"Visiting a friend," Dumbledore said simply. His gentle tone was gone, something about the new arrival had raised the stakes. "For those who do not know," he said, talking purely to Harry, Ron and Hermione. "This is Lucius Malfoy, a prominent member of Pokémon society and one of the Governors of Hogwarts." He did not introduce the students.

Beside Harry Hermione gasped and Ron swore, causing Dumbledore's beard to twitch. Now that they had been introduced the resemblance was uncanny. It wasn't just the hair or the aristocratic features but the manner in which Lucius Malfoy carried himself that reminded Harry more than anything of Draco. This must be his father.

"May I ask what it is for which you have come searching for me?" Dumbledore asked politely, though to Harry it sounded like he was preparing for the worst. A small smirk, much like the one the younger Malfoy would use, appeared on Mr Malfoy's face.

"I am here on official Hogwarts business," Malfoy said smoothly. "Here I have a copy of an Order of Suspension, signed by myself and my fellow governors. We feel like you are getting a bit too old for such a heavy responsibility and that it might be a good idea to bring in fresh blood."

"Now, Lucius, are you sure about this?" Minister Fudge seemed positively alarmed by the sudden development.

"Certain," Malfoy said smoothly. "Another attack this afternoon, a double attack even. The safety of our children is at risk and I for one will not let danger befall the innocent."

"But to remove Dumbledore," Fudge blustered. "I mean, if he can't stop these attacks, who can?"

"That will be decided by the Board of Governors," Malfoy said simply. "It is within their power to dismiss and appoint faculty if they choose to intervene, and as can be seen all twelve governors have agreed-"

"An' how many did yeh have ter threaten an' blackmail before they agreed, Malfoy, eh?" Hagrid roared. Harry had never seen Hagrid so enraged. "Yeh can't take Dumbledore! Yeh take him an' yeh might as well jus' close the school righ' now!"

"Hagrid," Dumbledore said softly and Hagrid, face purple with rage, calmed immediately, falling back into his seat and looking drained.

"If it is the will of the Board of Governors then I will step aside," Dumbledore said. "It is of course their right, and their responsibility, to choose who works at this great school."

"Quite," Malfoy said calmly, though his eyes gleamed. "Very eloquent, as always."

"However," Dumbledore said, his voice rising ever so slightly as he spoke slowly and clearly. "I leave you with the solemn promise that help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it."

"Very nice," Malfoy said dryly.

Harry, Ron and Hermione shared a look.

"But Professor," Harry objected. Hagrid was right, if Dumbledore left that was the end for Hogwarts. Dumbledore, however, held up his hand.

"I thank you for your concern, Harry," he said calmly. "But I must respect this decision, and I hope that you will respect whoever it is that takes my place."

"And Hagrid?" Harry asked, looking over to the large man. Dumbledore looked genuinely sad as he followed his gaze.

"Don't go sayin' anythin'," Hagrid said gruffly. "I know where I'm goin'. Jus' give me a moment." He lifted himself out of his chair and pulled himself up to his full, and rather considerable height, easily dwarfing the portly Cornelius Fudge.

"I've got a favour ter ask of you lot," Hagrid said softly, bending down to be at eye level with Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"Anything," Harry promised. Hagrid gave a small smile.

"I need yeh ter look after me Pokémon, while I'm gone," he said, his voice cracking slightly as he gave a loud sniff. "An' if I don't come back…"

"Hagrid!" Hermione said, scolding him for even thinking such an idea.

"If I don't come back," Hagrid plowed on, ignoring her. "Will yeh please care fer them as yer own. It'd mean a lot to me ter know they are bein' well cared for."

"Of course, Hagrid," Harry said softly. "We'll take really good care of them, I promise."

Hagrid gave him a watery smile, pulling off his thick leather belt with his Pokéballs attached and pressing them into Harry's chest.

"I know," he said, wiping away a tear. "Yer a great kid Harry, an' you too Ron an' Hermione. I know I'm leavin' 'em in good hands." He straightened up.

"Alrigh', let's get a move on, yeah," he said loudly.

"Quite right, Hagrid," Dumbledore said approvingly. "Mr Malfoy, if you would please lead the way." Lucius Malfoy didn't look pleased to be dictated to but nevertheless walked through the door to Hagrid's hut, Dumbledore and Hagrid following him out with Fudge, giving the three students one last, awkward, look, right behind them.

The door closed with a thud.


	14. Lost

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

"What are we going to do?"

Dumbledore, Hagrid, Lucius Malfoy and Cornelius Fudge had left Hagrid's hut fifteen minutes ago and these were the first words that had been spoken since.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting around Hagrid's great oak table, staring alternatively down at the wood, out the darkened windows, or into the crackling fireplace.

"There's not much we can do," Ron said despondently. "Dumbledore's gone, expect an attack every other day now."

"Maybe they'll bring someone else in who can help," Hermione suggested weakly. Ron snorted.

"Who?" he asked. "Who's better suited to protect us than Dumbledore. That Fudge bloke is a right arse for arresting Hagrid but he got that right."

"You've got to wonder why Lucius Malfoy wanted rid of Dumbledore," Harry said. "You don't think he wants more attacks? Could this have been Malfoy all along?"

"It can't have been," Hermione said, shaking her head. "We know what Pokémon Malfoy has, a Servine and a Murkrow. Neither of them are poison types and even then, how would he be getting away with it?"

"I don't know but I don't like the look of his father," Ron said. "He's up to something. Dad always said he believed Mr Malfoy to be a loyal supporter of You-know-who. I reckon he's done this deliberately, making it easier for You-know-who to keep attacking people."

Harry and Hermione shared a look. It was hard to refute that logic, especially since it was clear that Lucius Malfoy was very pleased to have got rid of Dumbledore.

"So what do we do now?" Harry asked. "We still haven't told anyone about Absol. And now it seems like the teachers need all the help they can get."

"I suppose we should go to McGonagall," Hermione said. "Until someone is appointed to replace Dumbledore she'll be acting head of the school."

Professor McGonagall was not pleased to find the three of them wandering around so late but she was much more concerned when they explained what had happened in Hagrid's cabin. Slowly Harry, Ron and Hermione talked through what had been said no more than an hour ago and as they did so McGonagall's face got more and more severe.

"This is highly disconcerting," McGonagall said finally as they finished their story. "And Malfoy didn't say anything about whether a replacement will be brought in?" They shook their heads.

"Very well," McGonagall said curtly. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Ten points to Gryffindor." The winning of house points meant nothing to them anymore. "Now, may I ask just why the three of you went out to visit Hagrid so late?"

Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at each other before Harry, taking a deep breath, recanted his suspicions about Absol. As he finished McGonagall just looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"That's everything," he told her. He'd said his piece, whether she believed him was up to her.

McGonagall let out a thoughtful sound. "So, let me get this straight," she said, her face a blank mask. "You've been seeing this Absol around the school and you believe that this Pokémon's appearance causes the attacks."

"Not causes the attacks," Harry said quickly. "We believe he's trying to warn us something bad is going to happen." McGonagall stared down at Harry with an unwavering gaze.

"Ms Granger," McGonagall said suddenly, turning her attention to Hermione who squeaked in surprise. "You believe this?" Hermione nodded. "You are certain?" Hermione cleared her throat and straightened up, gathering herself to face her stern professor.

"I was sceptical at first," she admitted. "But what Harry has said is all true. Absol has appeared before us, specifically before Harry, exactly four times, and on each of those days there was an attack. On the days we haven't seen Absol there have been zero attacks."

McGonagall stared at Hermione intently, who hesitated slightly but stood her ground. She was resolute. McGonagall sighed.

"I'm not sure I believe your claim," McGonagall said. "But I agree that this is a terrible coincidence. If you see Absol again I want you to come straight to me, understand?" Harry, Ron and Hermione nodded. "Now I would like to ask you to return to the Gryffindor Common Room. As you are no doubt aware I have an unanticipated workload to get started on."

Harry, Ron and Hermione bid Professor McGonagall goodnight and headed back up to the common room. By the time they got there it was closing in on midnight and the room was dark and empty. It seemed Gryffindor house had finally turned in for the night.

"Well," Ron said, looking pale. "I guess we just… hope for the best." He nodded to himself, as though agreeing that that was the right term to use. "See you in the morning."

* * *

In the wake of the latest, double, attack and the news that Dumbledore had been sacked and Hagrid arrested Hogwarts was a much different place.

The fear was back and this time it was everyone. Even Malfoy couldn't find anything to say in light of the latest attack when Harry was sure he would normally be gloating endlessly that his father had been the one to remove Dumbledore from Hogwarts. If anything it looked as though he hoped no one would ever find out.

There appeared to be only one person in the whole school who was confident that the crisis had been dealt with, and that was Gilderoy Lockhart.

"Gosh," he'd said during the first Pokémon battling class since the attacks. "Why all the long faces?" He'd been met with a number of blank stares. No one believed in him anymore, not one student felt confident that he was anything other than a caricature of a professor.

"Don't you see," Lockhart said, as though explaining something very simple to someone very stupid. "It was Hagrid. He's locked up now, there's nothing to worry about. I must admit I was suspicious of Hagrid from the moment I arrived at Hogwarts."

Harry and Hermione had to physically hold Ron down at these words, his face red.

"That blasted, lying scumbag!" Ron raged the moment they were out of earshot of the classroom. "Like we'd believe he knew anything about what was going on."

It seemed like Ron's opinion was something that was shared throughout the rest of the school. No one cared what Lockhart said anymore, finding him mostly irritating for being so cheerful in the wake of the attack. It didn't help either that no one really believed Hagrid was behind the attacks at all and that they were all waiting on tenterhooks for the other shoe to drop. Without Dumbledore there was no protection for the students and everyone was simply waiting for the attacker to strike again.

One person who was taking all this particularly hard was Ginny. Hermione was quick to remind Harry and Ron that, with Luna in the hospital wing, Ginny had no friends to turn to for comfort, what with Colin having also been attacked. Ginny did not say anything, barely acted like she knew what was going on around her, and if it wasn't for the fact that Madam Pomfrey had enough to deal with they would have admitted her to the Hospital Wing.

"It's really not fair," Hermione said softly. Nearly three weeks had passed since the events of the Gryffindor/Hufflepuff Quidditch match and the school was still suspended in fear. No attacks had been carried out but no one was letting their guard down.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were in the Hospital Wing, visiting Luna for the first time since the attack occurred. Madam Pomfrey had been very strict with visitors, claiming that the safety of her patients must take priority. Since her searches for the Pokémon venom that had been used came up with nothing there was little she could do for the victims' health.

Most people didn't want to visit the Hospital Wing, too worried about associating themselves with the attacks, as though it would bring about their own demise if they were to do so, but a few people had been round. Percy Weasley, acting more solemn than Harry had ever seen him, had been to the Hospital Wing numerous times to visit Penelope and Argus Filch had been seen sitting by Mrs Norris's bedside, looking more human and relatable than Harry could have thought possible.

Today they'd brought Ginny with them, since she was more Luna's friend than they were. As had become the norm Ginny had not said anything since she'd got there, sitting pale faced between Luna and Colin's beds, head bowed, and it was this that Hermione's gaze rested on.

"It's her first year and all it's brought her is misery," Hermione said sadly.

"I didn't think it could be worse than our first year," Ron murmured. "How does something like this happen? Now I think I understand what mum and dad meant when they were talking about how it felt during the war. Except now we don't even know who's attacking us."

Harry didn't say anything, too lost in his own thoughts. Ever since Dumbledore and Hagrid had been taken away he'd been on edge, expecting an attack at any moment, but it hadn't come. Why? His hand curled around Norbert's Pokéball.

Hagrid's Pokémon had been split evenly among the three of them. Harry had taken responsibility for Norbert, Hagrid's young Bagon, while Ron had chosen to care for the dog-like Mightyena Fang and Hermione had taken the Ariados, Aragog.

The idea that Hagrid could have been the perpetrator was laughable but the fact that there had been no new attacks were causing doubt to spread through Harry's mind. Yet it was impossible. Norbert, Fang and Aragog were devastated that Hagrid had gone and Harry couldn't imagine that any of them, even the somewhat creepy poison type Ariados, could have hurt the students. All the signs led to the fact that the attacker was waiting for something else, but what Harry didn't know.

"Ginny?" the sound of Ron's voice snapped Harry out of his train of thought and he looked up.

Ginny had left her seat between Colin and Luna's beds. Instead she was hurrying towards the doors to the Hospital Wing at a frantic pace.

"Wait! Ginny, wait up!" Ron called after her but she broke into a run, charging through the doors and out of sight.

"We can't let her go out on her own," Hermione gasped. "It's too dangerous."

Ron was already one step ahead of her, having started running the moment he'd realised Ginny wasn't going to slow down. He was out the Hospital Wing so fast that Harry and Hermione, hurrying after him, briefly lost track of him.

"Ron!" Harry shouted but he was startled as Hermione pulled on his arm.

"Harry, look."

Harry turned and his blood ran cold.

Absol stood before him, as silent and unmoving as ever, and Harry immediately knew they were in trouble.

"Ron!" he shouted loudly, desperately hoping his friend could hear him. The sound of running from their left had them scampering over and they almost ran head first into Ron as he rounded the corner.

"I can't find Ginny," Ron panted. "I don't know which way she went. She just disappeared."

"Ron," Harry interrupted, cutting across Ron's muttered curses. "Ron! We saw Absol! We just saw him!" Ron's face went white.

"GINNY!" he shouted at the top of his voice, turning around on the spot searching for some clue as to where his sister had gone. "GINNY!"

"We've got to find Professor McGonagall," Hermione said quickly, ever the voice of reason. "She needs to be warned."

"GINNY!" Ron ignored her, continuing to shout out before suddenly falling silent. The soft click of shoes on stone could be heard and the three of them quickly spun round in the direction of the noise.

"Professor McGonagall!" Hermione shouted, hurrying forward as the acting headmistress rounded the corner. "We've just seen Absol, we've just…" but she went quiet when she caught sight of McGonagall's face.

"It's too late," she said, her voice hollow. She seemed almost lost for words. "Follow me."

They did, not daring to say a word as Professor McGonagall led them back along the corridor, down a flight of stairs and then along another corridor, and Harry quickly realised where they were heading.

The corridor where the first attacks took place hadn't changed a bit since Halloween, except now the corridor was crowded with professors, each looking grave and serious. Argus Filch had made an attempt at removing the writing from the wall but had been unsuccessful, and now a new message was written below the first.

HER SKELETON WILL LIE IN THE CHAMBER FOR EVER

Beside Harry, Ron moaned.


	15. Moaning Myrtle

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

The Gryffindor Common Room was silent. Nobody spoke. Nobody moved.

Professor McGonagall had, after escorting Harry, Ron and Hermione back to Gryffindor Tower, told everyone what had happened, advising them to remain in the common room until such time as a teacher told them it was safe.

This was devastating news for the Weasleys. Percy, not able to deal with what was happening, had retreated to his dorm to be alone. Fred and George remained, grim faced and snapping at anyone who dared seem even remotely happy.

Harry, Ron and Hermione had found themselves a small corner of the common room and were left undisturbed. They sat in silence, each of them lost in their own terrible thoughts, not speaking or even looking at each other.

A soft thud interrupted the quiet.

Ron's fist, tightly clenched, had knocked against the table they were sitting at and he looked up, purpose in his eyes.

"We've got to do something," he said definitively, as though daring anyone to disagree. Harry and Hermione looked at each other.

"But what?" Hermione asked desperately. "What can we do?"

Ron huffed. "I don't know but we've got to do something," he said firmly. "I can't just sit here while my sister…" he swallowed hard. "We've got to do something."

Harry frowned. He agreed with Ron, it felt awful just sitting and waiting and he needed to be up and doing something just to relieve some of the tension. But Hermione was right also. What could they do?

He glanced between Hermione and Ron, and sighed.

"What do we know?" he asked, hoping inspiration would suddenly strike. Hermione answered immediately.

"The creature in the chamber must be a poison type Pokémon," she recited, much more comfortable now that she was in her area of expertise. "Even though other Pokémon can learn poison type moves they wouldn't be anywhere near as potent as what we are seeing here."

Harry nodded. "What else?" he asked.

"The chamber was opened fifty years ago," Ron said, enthusiastically joining in. "They blamed Hagrid so the real guy got away. And last time the attacks went on until a girl …" Ron trailed off, his face going horribly pale.

"What about Myrtle?" Harry asked.

"I'm sorry?" Hermione frowned.

"The girl who was the victim last time," Harry said quickly, trying not to dwell on the thought of Ginny in Myrtle's place. "Isn't it said that she haunts the bathroom on the second floor?"

"The room where she died," Hermione agreed.

"Do you really think it could be true?" Ron asked.

"Penelope Clearwater certainly thought so," Harry pointed out. "And she's a Ravenclaw. A prefect too."

Hermione bit her lip. "Well if it is true…" she said hesitantly.

"Then Myrtle can help us," Ron said excitedly, standing up and continuing in a hushed whisper. "If she saw the attacker, heck, she could tells us who it is and what Pokémon he's got and where the chamber is hidden and…"

"Ron, calm down," Hermione said quickly, tugging on his sleeve to pull him back into his seat and glancing furtively around the room. "Remember, this is all suspicion. As far as I know ghosts don't exist and while Pokémon change things…"

"Don't get your hopes up," Harry finished for her. "It's certainly worth checking out but… we might not be the first ones to think of it."

Ron swallowed, and nodded. He would keep his hopes under control.

"Let's go," he said, standing up more calmly this time. He led Harry and Hermione across the common room and out of Gryffindor Tower. No one dared stop them. Hardly anyone seemed to even notice.

"We'll have to be careful not to run into any teachers," Hermione said in a hushed voice as they descended towards the second floor. "If they catch us out here they'll make sure we're locked away inside Gryffindor Tower for good."

She might as well have put a jinx on them for the moment she finished speaking hurried footsteps could be heard approaching and, before they could make a getaway, Gilderoy Lockhart strode round the corner.

"Ah!" He shouted in surprise, falling backwards and toppling over the rather large trunk he'd been dragging behind him, which burst open and started spilling its contents across the corridor. "Oh, Harry, what are you doing here?"

"Eh," Harry said but Hermione beat him to it, her eyes narrowed.

"What have you got that trunk for, Professor Lockhart?" she asked, a steely note to her voice. Harry and Ron glanced over to the item in question, understanding starting to come over them too. Lockhart looked very uncomfortable.

"Ah, well, you see…"

"You're running away," Harry said, disbelieving. He didn't think much of Lockhart but he would never expected something this cowardly from the man who was supposedly a great adventurer.

"Ah, not really, uh, just something else that's come up," Lockhart rambled. His hair was all over the place and his face looked gaunt. Harry had never seen Lockhart look so unpolished.

"What about my sister?" Ron demanded.

"Eh," Lockhart said nervously, correctly reading Ron's mood. "Well, unfortunate, definitely, but, uh, not much to be done, I'm afraid. Bad business and all, very unfortunate."

"So you're just going to leave?" Harry asked incredulously. Lockhart looked desperate.

"Please, what do you expect me to do?" he pleaded. "I'm sorry but the Weasley girl is done for, they'll never find her and it's much too dangerous to even try."

"But what about everything you've done in your books?" Hermione asked. "You tamed that heard of wild Druddigon, you saved Teddiursa from that army of Trevenant, you battled and defeated Yveltal, for goodness sake."

"Ah," Lockhart said, rubbing the back of his neck guiltily. "Books can be… misleading."

"So you faked it," Ron accused, clenching his fists angrily.

"There's a thin line between fact and fiction," Lockhart said carefully. "So what if none of the things I've written actually happened, they made good books. That's why people buy books, to be entertained."

"And is that what you told Dumbledore when you took this job?" Harry asked scornfully. "Did you tell him you were a hack?"

Lockhart drew himself up. "Now hold up there, that's uncalled for," he said angrily. "Do you know the research I had to put in to make those stories believable? Do you know the people I had to talk to and the books I had to read?"

"Doesn't matter if you're too much of a coward to stay and protect the students," Harry countered. "What use is that knowledge if you never use it to help anyone?"

"Enough, you don't get to say that to me!" Lockhart shouted. "Hawlucha, go!" Hawlucha soared out of his Pokéball and struck a pose in front of Lockhart, flexing his muscles. "If you kids don't get out of my way I'll have to move you myself. It's nothing personal, but I'm not staying here a moment longer."

Harry's blood boiled. It didn't matter if letting Lockhart go would be the smart choice. It didn't matter that he wasn't stopping them from going where they needed to go. All that mattered was that Harry couldn't let such a cowardly and uncaring man get away.

"Norbert, let's go!" Harry called, releasing the Bagon. "Use Headbutt!"

"Hawlucha, use Flying Press!" Lockhart called, Hawlucha launching himself up and descending chest first towards where Norbert was standing. Norbert eyed him for a moment and then charged, head first.

"Ah!" Lockhart yelled as Hawlucha was thrown backwards, striking the man in the chest and knocking him back to the ground. He hit his head off the cold stone floor with a loud thunk and both he and his Pokémon did not move.

"Is he alright?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"He'll be fine," Ron brushed off. "Good job, Norbert!" he called to the Pokémon. Norbert jumped up and down happily.

"Let's go," Harry said. "We're not far now but all the yelling might have told someone we're here."

"Yeah, let's go," Ron agreed and they hurried off, leaving behind the unconscious Hawlucha and Lockhart and heading towards the girls bathroom on the second floor.

They reached the second floor quickly and were drawn to a halt as they approached the corridor outside the haunted bathroom.

The words that had been written on the wall remained, glittering in the low light coming through the windows as the sun started to set. The whole corridor was eerily quiet and Harry immediately felt on edge. It couldn't be a coincidence that three of the attacks had taken place in this part of the school, it just couldn't be.

"What was that?" Harry said suddenly. There was a tiny scuffling noise, so quiet they wouldn't have heard it normally.

Harry, Ron and Hermione immediately stood back to back, looking in all directions for the source of the noise.

"Bagon!" Norbert cried, flying suddenly towards a dark corner of the corridor head first, causing a shape to leap away.

"Norbert! Wait!" Harry called. He recognised that shape. Slowly he crept closer to the quivering creature, careful not to startle it as Ron and Hermione followed close behind, Norbert standing guard.

"Oh my gosh," Hermione whispered in shock. "Eevee."

Luna's Eevee, Pandora, was standing pressed against the wall, looking absolutely petrified. Her whole body was shaking wildly and her eyes flickered between Harry, Ron and Hermione as they approached.

"Hey," Harry whispered softly, carefully extending out a hand. Pandora flinched back. "Pandora, don't you recognise me?" he asked quietly, keeping his hand held out and still. "I'm Harry, I'm Luna's friend, remember?"

"Of course," Hermione whispered. "When we last saw Luna she had Eevee in her arms. Eevee must have escaped during the attack."

"And she's been hiding ever since," Ron said in understanding. "Poor thing."

Harry didn't say anything. Pandora was warily sniffing at his fingers and Harry didn't want to do anything that might scare the terrified Pokémon away. Eventually Pandora seemed to decide that Harry was okay and pushed her head underneath Harry's hand.

"We need to move," Ron said. They'd been delayed for too long already and every moment they spent out of their common room was a moment they could be caught. They hurried over to the door to the girls bathroom, located halfway down the corridor, and entered.

The room was freezing. Despite it being the middle of May Harry's breath started to frost up in front of his face. Hermione wrapped her arms tightly around herself and Ron started rubbing his hands together.

"It's f-freezing," Ron muttered as they looked around the room. Bagon was similarly shivering and Pandora, who had followed them inside, was standing nervously right by Harry's heel.

"I wonder why?" Hermione murmured, although Harry knew she was thinking the same as him. He stepped forward into the middle of the room, sensing that there was something there that he just couldn't see.

"Myrtle?" He spoke out, his breath fogging the air in front of him. "Are you there?"

A swooshing sound filled the room, like that of soaring wings, and the air around them seemed to undulate. Ron and Hermione looked around nervously but Harry was focused on the spot in front of him where something was fading into existence in a swirl of energy.

Hermione gasped. Ron swore. Pandora squeaked in fright and jumped into Harry's arms. Harry just stared.

The ghostly apparition of a girl, maybe just a few years older than they were, was floating before them. She had dark hair, worn with a large fringe, and a pair of round, thick glasses. She was looking at them with an impatient expression.

"What do you want?" she demanded. They all jumped. Her voice sounded normal, much to their surprise. It was almost like she was still alive, except Harry found he could see right through her floating body.

"Er, are you Myrtle?" Harry asked tentatively. The girl scowled.

"Of course I am," she snapped back. "Honestly, do you think I'd answer your call if I wasn't?"

Harry really wasn't sure what to make of her. He glanced back at Ron and Hermione. Ron was staring at Myrtle with wide eyes, his mouth hanging open. Hermione's gaze was on Harry and she made a gesture for him to keep going.

"Eh," Harry said again, turning back to the impatient ghost. She huffed.

"Really, what was the point?" she complained and her body started to fade, getting more translucent as she started to disappear.

"Wait!" Harry said quickly. "Please! We need your help!"

Myrtle paused, nearly completely gone, before she flickered back into view.

"No one's ever said that to me," she said quietly. She seemed curious. "Why would anyone come to ask my help? I'm nothing but a spirit, I have no grasp on this world anymore."

Harry hesitated.

"Do you know anything about the Chamber of Secrets?" he asked slowly, tentatively.

Myrtle laughed. "Hah! Know anything? I know everything little boy. Every dark secret, every twisted detail, yes, I know it all."

"Then why didn't you tell anyone?" Hermione asked, appalled. Myrtle favoured her a cold look.

"Nobody asked," she replied simply. She turned back to Harry. "But you did." She tilted her head to the side curiously.

"The chamber has been opened again," Harry said quickly. "People have been attacked and we need to find out who did it."

"Why?" Myrtle asked.

"They've taken my sister!" Ron shouted. "We need to save her! You need to help us!"

Myrtle shrugged. "What's in it for me?" she said with a bored voice.

"What?" Ron gaped.

Myrtle shrugged again. "Dead or alive your sister isn't my concern," she told him. "Maybe if she died she could keep me company in my toilet. It is frightfully boring with no one to talk to."

"Why you little…" Ron growled but Harry sent him a warning look.

"What can you tell us?" He asked Myrtle. "You must know something, you are the only one who knows what happened fifty years ago."

Myrtle smiled coyly. "What do you want to know?"

"Where is the Chamber of Secrets?" Harry said immediately. "What creature is causing the attacks? Who is behind this?"

Myrtle gave a mock thoughtful look. "Let's see," she pondered.

"Please," Hermione said. "We really need your help." Myrtle peeked over at Hermione with one eye as she continued her thoughtful pose, but she seemed to have lost some of her playfulness.

"I don't know who's behind all this," she admitted. "Some student, older than me. Tall, dark hair. He had a Slytherin tie."

"Knew it," Ron muttered under his breath.

"I was never great shakes at my studies so I don't know what the Pokémon was called either," Myrtle continued, shrugging in a 'what can you do'-like gesture. "But where the chamber is? I do know that."

"Where?" Harry asked eagerly, Hermione and Ron perking up at the words too. Myrtle wagged a finger at him.

"Uh uh uh," Myrtle grinned. "You have to do something for me now. That's how this works." Harry hesitated.

"What do you want?" he asked. Truthfully he didn't know what he could do for a ghost.

"If I tell you what I know I want you to give me a promise," Myrtle told him.

"Which is?" Harry questioned warily.

"That you'll come visit me," Myrtle told him, causing his eyebrows to shoot up. "It is awfully lonely, no one ever seems to come round. I'd appreciate some company."

"Eh," Harry said, completely thrown off by this request. "Myrtle, this is a girls bathroom." Myrtle's expression became annoyed.

"Suit yourself," she said shortly, starting to float backwards and fade from view.

"Wait!" Harry shouted. "I'll do it! I'll do it! I'll come visit you!"

Myrtle stopped short, before floating down to see him. "Are you sure?" she asked, looking almost hesitant but excited.

Harry nodded. "I'll do it if you hold up your end of the bargain," he warned her. "Where is the Chamber of Secrets?"

Myrtle scrutinised Harry carefully, floating around in front of him as though inspecting every single inch of him, before a smile curved her lips.

"Over there," she said simply, pointing towards the sinks. Harry looked over.

"The sinks?" he asked, confused. Myrtle nodded. "Hermione," Harry called. Hermione hurried forward and Harry gently unloaded an anxious Pandora into her arms so he could move forward and inspect the sinks.

"There is a lever on one of them," Myrtle told him, floating up behind him as Harry inspected the sinks. "I've seen him use it."

Harry started to search for the lever, running his hands over every inch of the sinks he could. It wasn't a pleasant task. No one had used the sinks in fifty years and they were covered in dirt and grime.

"Do you think it's really here?" Ron muttered. He'd come to crouch next to Harry as he searched the sinks, getting his hands dirty in his effort to help. Myrtle had taken to floating around the room, bored by Harry's search, and Hermione was standing behind them, Pandora held securely in her arms.

"It's got to be," Harry muttered back. It wasn't like Harry was going to keep his end of the bargain if he found out Myrtle had been lying to him the whole time. "It makes sense that no one has found it before now. Who would search a girls bathroom?"

The moment he said this his hand ran across something small and round, which rattled slightly as he touched it. Harry paused, sharing a glance with Ron, and moved to take a firm grip of the unseen object. He pulled.

Harry and Ron jumped back in surprise as a loud rumbling came from the sinks. The sink they'd been working on was shaking on the spot, rattling as though caught in an earthquake, and to their astonishment it started to disappear into the ground. For about a minute the rumbling continued until it came to a sudden stop, the sink falling still, revealing a large hole in the bathroom wall.

"Bloody hell," Ron muttered, peering inside. The hole seemed to lead into some sort of tunnel, the walls smooth in a way that could only be man made, descending downwards for as far as the little light they had stretched.

"So what do we do? Jump?" Ron asked, scrutinising the tunnel doubtfully. Harry turned to Myrtle.

"That's what she did," Myrtle told them.

"She?" Ron asked.

"The redhead girl," Myrtle responded. "In a right odd way she was, jumped right in without a second glance." Harry, Ron and Hermione shared a look.

"I guess that means it's okay to jump," Hermione said weakly. Harry grimaced.

"I'll go first," he told the other two. "I'll go with Norbert, just in case there's something waiting for us at the bottom."

"We'll be right behind you," Ron promised. Harry nodded. Tentatively he climbed into the mouth of the tunnel and sat on the edge, peering over the precipice in the hopes of seeing something below. He didn't.

"Come on Norbert," Harry said shakily, gesturing for the small dragon type. Norbert seemed to share none of Harry's misgivings and happily walked over to him, making himself comfortable in Harry's lap.

"Wait a minute before following me," Harry told the other two. "I'll send Fletchinder up to let you know if it's safe to go down here." Pale faced Ron and Hermione nodded.

"Good luck," Hermione whispered. Harry nodded, then took a breath, and pushed off from the wall.

Immediately darkness engulfed him and Harry could see nothing at all. Instead he was guided by the feeling of the tunnel wall against his back which twisted and turned, taking Harry deeper and deeper under the school. He let out a gasp as he was bumped up against the wall of the tunnel from a sharp turn and then suddenly there was nothing beneath him, just air. He shot out the end of the tunnel like a rocket and hit the ground with a clatter, rolling over and over until his momentum ground to a halt.

For a moment he lay still, coughing as he tried to get air back into his lungs. He was still completely blind, there was no more light down here than there had been in the tunnel, but Harry sensed that he was alone for now.

"Charmeleon," Harry whispered, releasing his starter Pokémon. Immediately the area lit up from the fire burning on Charmeleon's tail and Harry was finally able to get a glimpse of where he had landed.

It looked like a cave of sorts, miles beneath the school. The walls were rough and unmarked but there were clear signs that something had lived here at some point. The ground, which Harry had originally thought was covered in twigs and sticks, was instead filled with small Rattata bones.

Ron and Hermione made it down about a minute later, Fletchinder having flown up to give them the okay, and reacted much like Harry had.

"This is revolting," Ron muttered, stepping warily to try and avoid the Rattata skulls. "One thing's for sure, I'm not taking Scabbers out here." Harry felt that there were other reasons why Ron's fat, forever sleeping Rattata was not welcome in this situation.

"So what now?" Hermione asked, dusting down her skirt which had got twisted during the rollercoaster ride down the tunnel.

"There's only one way forward," Ron pointed out. The light from Charmeleon's tail didn't extend far but it was clear that Harry, Ron and Hermione were standing at the tunnel's end and that the darkness was the way forward.

"I think we should let someone know we're down here," Hermione said. "I mean, we've found the entrance to the chamber. If we could get McGonagall and Flitwick and Sprout down here before we go any further then we'll be so much better prepared." Her reasoning was sound but did little to convince the others.

"I'm not waiting," Ron said bullishly. "My sister's been down here for who knows how long. I'm not leaving her."

"We don't have time," Harry agreed. "Look, I'll send Fletchinder back up but Ginny needs help now. If we wait for the teachers we might be too late."

Hermione looked torn.

"Oh, alright," she conceded. "I suppose you are right. I just wish we had more backup."

And so they went on, Fletchinder leaving their group and flying back up the tunnel and out of sight.

The journey went by in almost complete silence, the only sound being the crackle of bones beneath their feet that they tried desperately to block out. Even Norbert, who had thoroughly enjoyed the ride down the tunnel, had grasped the seriousness of the situation and was on the lookout.

They'd soon left behind the tunnel, following the pathway set before them, Charmeleon's tail providing them with the light needed to continue onwards. However it soon felt as though they were making little progress. The blank walls of the cave remained blank and the bone strewn ground remained constant. It was almost like they were trapped in a never ending journey.

An extra large crack caused Harry to look up and he suddenly realised that he could see the tunnel ceiling for the first time in their journey. Indeed the walls seemed to be coming together too and the passageway seemed to be coming to a point.

"Do you think this tunnel's steady?" he asked warily. Another crack echoed and this time Harry knew it wasn't from the bones beneath their feet.

At that moment a huge crash echoed throughout the tunnel, the very ground beneath their feet shaking as the walls and ceiling rumbled, small bits of stone falling on their heads as they stumbled.

"It's a cave in!" Ron yelled over the din. "We've got to get out of here!" As he said this larger pieces of stone started to crash from the ceiling, causing the three people and Pokémon to jump out of the way of the falling rocks.

"Charmeleon!" Harry shouted. A particularly large rock had dislodged from the roof and Charmeleon hadn't noticed. He dived, throwing himself at his Pokémon and knocking him out the way, the two of them rolling a safe distance as they were showered by smaller stones. Looking up Harry glimpsed rocks falling all around them, hearing Hermione's screams and Ron's shouts but no longer able to see them as the whole passageway crumbled around them.

A large rock fell loose from the ceiling and Harry, still clutching Charmeleon, realised he wasn't going to be able to dodge it.

"Bagon!"

Out of nowhere Norbert appeared, flying head first at the enormous boulder, colliding with a huge crack. For a second Norbert and the rock hung suspended in midair before the rock shattered, covering them with a hail of dirt and dust which Harry had to shield his eyes from. By the time he could see again the rockfall had stopped.

He coughed, pulling himself up and marvelling that he had somehow escaped the blast.

"Charmeleon," he half-said, half-spluttered, dust filling his lungs. "Are you alright, buddy?" Charmeleon pulled himself up to his feet, dirty but unharmed. "Norbert, you too?" Norbert nodded happily.

Harry smiled. "You saved us, Norbert," he said, his voice almost disbelieving. "Thank you." Norbert beamed with pride.

"Harry!" Ron's voice caught his attention, loud, but muffled.

"Ron!" Harry shouted back, turning behind him. The red head boy was out of sight and Harry was daunted to find that the cave-in had been absolute. He could not see a single way back through.

"Harry! You're alright!" Ron shouted, sounding awfully relieved.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" Harry shouted back. "I've got Charmeleon and Norbert with me. We're all fine!"

"Hermione's with me!" Ron told him, answering his unasked question. "But we're stuck here, I can't see a way through!"

"Me neither!" Harry replied. He ran his hands over the fallen stones and tried to find the cracks. "I don't think we'll be able to get back through!"

"But Harry! Ginny!"

Harry swallowed. "I'll go after her!" he promised. "I'll get her back Ron! I swear it!"

"Right!" Ron shouted back gratefully. "We'll clear a hole for you then, for when you and Ginny get back!"

Harry nodded, though he knew Ron couldn't see him.

"Norbert," he said, turning to the little Bagon. "Norbert, the way you broke that rock was very impressive. Do you think you could help Ron get us through here?" Norbert looked questioningly at Harry and then at the wall.

"Bagon!" he said happily, jumping on the spot before he turned to the rockfall and ran straight for it. The collision was fierce but Norbert just jumped back to his feet and started again.

"Ron!" Harry shouted. "Ron, I've got Norbert helping on this end! He's got a strong Headbutt, it should help!" There was a noise of acknowledgment from the other side. "Wish me luck." And Harry set off down the passageway, Charmeleon by his side.


	16. Tom Marvolo Riddle

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

The tunnel was a lot more forbidding without Ron and Hermione by his side. Harry and Charmeleon walked in silence, each on high alert for any sign of another collapse, but so far nothing had happened. The tunnel remained still and silent.

"We'll get to the end soon," Harry assured Charmeleon, finding the need to break the unnerving silence. "When we do we'll get Ginny and head back. Ron will have cleared a way back through by then and we'll be able to head back up the tunnel."

Charmeleon nodded in response but did not react further. Harry suspected that Charmeleon knew he wasn't being entirely honest with him. The truth was that the cave-in had put Harry on edge. There had been no sign of any structural damage throughout the rest of the tunnel and there had also been no sign of any previous collapse. The passage was clear of debris but for the small bones scattered underfoot.

Suddenly the tunnel came to an abrupt end. For several minutes the walls had been slowly closing in and the ceiling lowering and now Harry and Charmeleon were faced with a solid silver circular door blocking their path. An intricately designed circular door.

Along the door's surface were carved dozens of slithering snakes, each one entangling with the others at the centre before stretching out to the very edges of the door where they ended, the snake's heads staring outwards, eyes glinting with emeralds.

"I don't see a handle," Harry muttered, looking at the door. The surface was filled with bumps and grooves around the entwined snake bodies but nowhere could Harry see anything the resembled a handle. He ran his fingers along the snakes carefully.

It may have been his nerves talking but the emerald eyes seemed to be following him.

"Char," Charmeleon caught his attention, standing by the very edge of the door. Harry came over to look.

"Hinges," he muttered, running his fingers along the silver embedded firmly into the wall. It didn't seem as though breaking them loose was going to be easy. His fingers followed the hinges until he found where they ended.

"I can't get any purchase," Harry muttered, trying to get his fingers into the space between the wall and the door. Despite the rough nature of the tunnel walls the door seemed fitted with great precision, leaving Harry with little to work with.

"Charm," Charmeleon spoke, gesturing for Harry to stand back. He raised his fist and his claws glowed with what Harry recognised to be his Metal Claw attack, before he slammed them into the crack between the door and the wall. He slammed them again.

Two or three more strikes were all that were needed before the door creaked loudly, falling away slightly from the wall and allowing Harry to reach round and, with a great heave, pull it open.

The sight on the other side made his jaw drop.

They were in a chamber, a chamber so enormous that you could fit the whole of the Great Hall inside it several times over. The walls stretched for as far as the eye could see and the ceiling was shrouded in darkness, leaving Harry to wonder just how far beneath the school they'd travelled.

Flames flickered in an unseen wind, torches burning between huge statues depicting snake heads, the flickering of the fire giving the stone serpents an almost lifelike appearance.

Harry stepped forward. His footstep echoed painfully around the huge chamber. He took another, then another, creeping carefully down the pathway. There was a figure standing far ahead of him that he couldn't quite make out, facing away from him so he could not see it's face. He crept nearer and the figure's features started to come into focus.

"Ginny?" he asked, recognising the cascade of red hair down the girl's back, but instantly he knew something was wrong.

"Harry." The voice was not Ginny's. It was cold, and it sent a shiver down Harry's back as he took another cautious step towards the figure that looked like Ginny, yet sounded like a nightmare. "How nice of you to be here." The figure turned around.

Harry immediately took a step back, stumbling slightly as he fought to keep his balance. Beside him he heard Charmeleon gasp and copy his movement. The figure laughed.

"Surprised?" It asked, a cruel smirk twisting its lips.

It was Ginny alright, at least it was her body, but the person controlling it was nothing of the sort

"You!" Harry gasped, unable to comprehend the sight in front of him.

"Me," Voldemort agreed, his smirk still sitting firmly on Ginny's face. "I must say I'm impressed, Potter, I had not expected you to get here so quickly. Or to recognise me, for that matter."

Harry shivered. "I don't care who you possess, I'll always recognise you."

"I'm flattered," said Voldemort, holding a hand to his chest. "To have made such an impression, it fills me with such… joy." The word seemed misplaced and hung in the air between them.

"What do you want?" Harry asked bullishly, clenching his fist in anger. "What do you want with Ginny?"

Voldemort shrugged. "Right now, nothing," he answered smoothly. "You can have her back. I have no need of her anymore." A black mist suddenly surrounded Ginny, seeming to seep out of her very skin, before retreating. For a minute Ginny hung in place, eyes closed as if she was sleeping, before she crumpled to the ground.

"Ginny!" Harry shouted, forgetting everything and rushing over to her, lifting her into his arms and shaking her. "Ginny, wake up! Please, you've got to wake up!"

"She won't wake," Voldemort's voice echoed around the chamber. Harry looked up. "She will be asleep for some time. I've assured as much."

The figure that spoke was not what Harry had expected to see. He had expected to see the Gastly form that Voldemort had shown him the last time they had met, with the purple smog and cold, unforgiving, cruel red eyes. The man who stood before him, however, was anything but monstrous. He was a boy, a handsome one, with dark hair and pale skin, and his eyes didn't glow red but showed hints of blue and grey.

"Who are you?" Harry asked. The boy tutted.

"Tut, tut, tut, and you were doing so well, Harry," the boy mocked and from his mouth issued Voldemort's voice. "It is hurtful really that you cannot recognise me in my true form."

Harry blinked, shaking his head. This was too confusing.

"You're young," Harry stammered, unable to form any coherent thoughts.

"Just sixteen years old," Voldemort confirmed with a smirk.

"But you opened the chamber fifty years ago," Harry said in disbelief. "How could you…?"

Voldemort's smirk grew.

"Yes," he said. "Yes, I did open the chamber fifty years ago," he told him, idly examining his fingernails. "I was sixteen then too." Harry shook his head, he couldn't understand.

"Perhaps I should explain," Voldemort said, favouring Harry with an amused look. "A little history lesson. Listen good Harry, it is truly a wondrous tale." Harry didn't say anything.

"You see, once upon a time there was a young boy, not so dissimilar to yourself, young Harry," Voldemort said. "Tom Marvolo Riddle," he said the name with a sneer. "He never knew his parents, like you, and he was always told he was destined for big things, again, like you. He even looked something like you, although a lot less scruffy." Voldemort's eyes distastefully eyed the cuts and bruises that littered Harry's face.

"The one difference between you and this boy is the path they chose," Voldemort continued. "You choose to isolate yourself from those that would steer you right, throwing your lot in with do-gooder's and muggle lovers, like Dumbledore and those wretched Weasleys." Voldemort made a face.

"But Tom, he chose differently. He chose the path of power, recognising that he alone could rise up above his peers. He alone had what it takes to rule. And so he studied, and learned, and soon enough he shook off that filthy muggle name and became what you see before you today."

Voldemort's eyes glittered triumphantly. "I am Lord Voldemort!"

Harry shivered. The whole chamber seemed to drop several degrees at Voldemort's pronouncement.

"So you opened the chamber," Harry stuttered, still trying to wrap his mind around what was happening. "You killed Myrtle."

"An accident," Voldemort waved off. "Believe me, I had much more important targets than a nosy, irritating school girl. Harry, if you had known her when she was alive… you would be quite pleased at her death." Harry shivered at the thought. It was disturbing.

"So why attack students now?" Harry demanded, sounding much more brave than he felt. "Justin, Colin, Mrs Norris, what did they ever do to you?"

Voldemort smirked. "Nothing," he answered simply. "But it certainly made my job easier to have them out of the way." Harry frowned.

"I don't understand," he said. "Why attack those students? I don't get it."

"I'm hardly surprised," Voldemort commented. "Logical reasoning is a skill much lacking in today's youth." He paused, seeming to weigh up whether he would say anything else.

"My mission was trickier than it was fifty years ago," Voldemort eventually admitted. "Without a body I would have no way of releasing the beast that dwells in this chamber, and I had no doubt that Dumbledore would be wise of any attempt to try and sneak in with the Pokémon battling professor." Then Voldemort smiled.

"And in comes Ginny Weasley," he said. "Young, naive, easily ready to believe that a tall, handsome, kind Slytherin prefect was willing to look out for her. Such a foolish girl." He looked down at Ginny's unconscious face, still propped up in Harry's arms. "Nevertheless, I may still let her live. She was such an accommodating host."

Harry felt sick. Voldemort, it seemed, didn't notice, or care.

"Possessing people is not an easy task, I am among the few that can do it," Voldemort said. "I could control sweet little Ginny for hours at a time but unfortunately I could not hold on in the same way I did Quirrel. After every possession I would wipe little Ginny's memory clean and send her on her way until the next time I needed her."

"You monster," Harry spat. To do such a thing to an innocent little girl was truly horrifying.

Voldemort smirked. "Monster, perhaps," he said. "But I get results." He tilted his head, watching Harry with a curious smile on his face. "Have you worked it out yet, Harry? Do you see what my little victims have in common?"

Harry's brain was starting to connect the dots but before he could reach his conclusion Voldemort continued.

"Mrs Norris, that blasted Glameow, was the first I needed to deal with," Voldemort told him. "It was that Glameow that I was originally going for when Myrtle ruined my plans and I was forced to lay low. I couldn't risk it raising the alarm, so I took it out of the picture."

The image of Mrs Norris, lying pitifully on the cold stone floor, filled Harry's mind.

"Then there was the Creevey boy," Voldemort continued. "Such a nuisance he was, always hanging around. I could never reveal myself to anyone but Ginny and that boy was making things so much more difficult. The Quidditch game proved to be my golden opportunity." He smirked. "I thank you."

Harry's fists clenched tightly, his face going red as anger rushed through him.

"And then there was Finch-Fletchley," Voldemort continued, ignoring Harry's rising anger. "I was going for Lovegood, my last obstacle to unfettered access to young Ginny. But Slytherin's magnificent beast took umbridge to that boy's Zangoose. I'm sure you saw the results."

"You bastard!" Harry shouted, unable to restrain himself any longer. "You murderer!"

Voldemort smiled. "That's me," he said. "Bastard. Murderer. They are nothing but labels to disguise from what I really am. I am Lord Voldemort, the greatest Pokémon trainer in the world."

"Liar!" Harry shouted. "You are nothing! You have no Pokémon, you're on your own! And you are not strong enough to face me this time! Charmeleon, burn him!"

"Not so fast," Voldemort hissed and within a moment he had dissolved into a dark smog and shot towards where Ginny lay prone in Harry's arms.

"No!" Harry shouted, throwing himself in the way. For a moment he felt the smog surround him, feeling the slimy sickly evil that permeated the cloud of gas before it retreated and Voldemort reformed.

"Very well," Voldemort huffed, not looking as pleased as he was before. "You may protect the girl if you want. I don't need her, not when I have Slytherin's greatness on my side." He put his fingers to his mouth and whistled.

Something shifted in the darkness, something large, something enormous just out of Harry's sight. The shape slithered forwards, the huge scaly body slowly snaking it's way into the light and Harry gasped, stumbling backwards in shock, is it came fully into view.

It was a Seviper, but unlike any that Harry had ever seen before. It towered high above him, it's head partially obscured in shadow, but it's two long, deadly fangs were easily distinguishable, dripping with poison that was so potent it sizzled as it hit the stone floor.

"Meet Slytherin's Monster," Voldemort said, the smirk returning to his face. "Long long ago, before Salazar Slytherin was expelled from the castle, he locked his strongest Pokémon down here where none of the other founders would find it so that one day his ancestors could return and take back what was stolen from him."

"Hogwarts doesn't belong to Slytherin," Harry denied, shaking his head. The Seviper seemed to understand, for it hissed and dipped it's head down towards him.

"Tut, tut, you're making him mad," Voldemort crooned. "Such a majestic beast, and so loyal. Why, it sensed the Slytherin blood in my veins the moment we met, and it has served me faithfully ever since." Voldemort stared down at Harry. "I suggest you simply surrender, your Charmeleon is no match for the might of Salazar Slytherin."

He was right. Charmeleon was strong but there was no way he could stand a chance against a beast the likes of Seviper. He easily stood at ten times Charmeleon's height and Harry couldn't even see where his tail ended.

Even so there was no way Harry was going out without a fight and judging by the look on Charmeleon's face he was thinking the same thing.

Their thinking must have shown on their faces for Voldemort stopped smirking. "Very well," he said coolly. "Seviper…" But he never finished his command as the sound of flapping wings echoed around the chamber, causing everyone to look up.

The Sorting Xatu flew down the length of the chamber, stunning them into silence by his sudden appearance. He grew closer and closer until he was finally in full view of everyone.

"What's this?" Voldemort muttered, and Harry realised he was completely thrown off by Xatu's sudden appearance, and that gave Harry courage.

"Xatu!" Harry shouted and Xatu headed straight for him, dropping two round shaped objects to the ground. They bounced and rolled, their momentum taking them right up to Harry's feet, and at the same time Harry and Voldemort realised that Xatu had been carrying Pokéballs.

"No!" Voldemort shouted angrily but Harry was quicker, picking up one of the Pokéballs and pressing the button.

Fawkes appeared in a flash of fire, bursting from the ball and circling around with a trill that gave Harry strength before turning to face Seviper. The battle was on.

Fire burst forth from Fawkes but Seviper was much more agile than he appeared, slithering out the way and lunging forward. It ignored Fawkes completely and went flying towards Harry, fangs bared and ready to sink into its prey before, out of nowhere, Xatu appeared and a glowing green shield sprung up, causing the ancient Pokémon to recoil.

As Fawkes reengaged Seviper, drawing its attention away from Harry, Xatu half-turned to fix a single eye on him. Even though Xatu used no words to communicate Harry knew what he was being instructed to do and nodded.

Immediately Xatu turned back to the fray, Fawkes and Seviper locked in a game of cat and mouse as Fawkes soared overhead and Seviper lashed out, trying to down the legendary bird. Xatu, with the simplest of movements raised his wings upwards and three balls of energy formed. They flew up into the air and disappeared into the darkness.

Nothing happened.

"Forget the bird, the boy is what we're after!" Voldemort shouted, sounding enraged. Harry couldn't make him out beyond Seviper's enormous body but he could feel the waves of energy that the part-Gastly was letting out as he started to lose his focus.

Xatu gave Harry a stern look and Harry hastened to do as instructed. He grabbed hold of Ginny, getting as tight a grip as he could, and started to haul her backwards.

The journey from the silver door earlier hadn't seemed very far but with Ginny's dead weight dragging him back it seemed to be miles away. Meanwhile Seviper was battling to get through to him. Xatu blocked him with another Protect before quickly teleporting out of reach of Seviper's follow up strike as Fawkes continued to swoop down from above.

For how long they were locked in battle Harry couldn't tell but he was finally starting to make some progress. Unfortunately so was Seviper. With every time Xatu teleported away from an attack Seviper gained ground and got closer to catching Xatu with every strike. He kept hunting down the flying and psychic type until eventually he caught him, his thick tail smashing Xatu against a stone statue. Xatu disappeared, and never reappeared.

"Get the boy!" Voldemort's yell sounded and Seviper, emboldened by its success, forged onwards, ignoring Fawkes' desperate attempts to draw him short.

What happened next happened very quickly.

Harry tried to move faster, hauling Ginny backwards desperately as Seviper gained ground. Fawkes dived again, his beak searching for a weak spot on Seviper's rough hide. Seviper's tail flicked out, deadly, and caught Fawkes hard, sending the Pokémon crashing ferociously to the ground. Seviper's way was clear.

Harry was barely aware of what was happening. Time seemed to slow down for him as Seviper moved forward unimpeded and rose up high above him, preparing to strike. Harry watched as Seviper descended, mouth wide, fangs bared and dripping with venom, and he knew this was the end.

"Char!"

Charmeleon knocked Harry aside, Ginny's limp form falling with him as they fell in a heap on the floor, leaving Charmeleon alone standing beneath Seviper's shadow.

"Charmeleon!" Harry screamed.

The collision was terrible. Harry's eyes were wide as Seviper's long fangs tore into Charmeleon, embedding into his chest and flattening him to the ground under its hideous serpentine face.


	17. Aegislash

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

Everything seemed to stop in that moment. Harry's heart skipped a beat, his breath hitched, and it was only when Seviper pulled away that he realised that time itself hadn't ground to a halt.

"Charmeleon," Harry choked, unable to even rush to his Pokémon's aide as he lay trapped beneath Ginny's dead weight. The silence rang in his ears.

"Well, well, well." Voldemort walked into view, his feet making no sound on the solid stone floor as he looked down at where Charmeleon lay. "So brave, and yet so foolish. What has that accomplished? So your trainer gets to live a few more seconds. Hardly worth it, in my opinion."

Voldemort turned away from Charmeleon and met Harry's emerald green eyes with his own. They were burning red.

"Yes," he hissed, a malicious grin crossing his face. "That's what I want," he continued with hushed excitement. "That look of hopelessness in your eyes. How I have longed to see it. Eleven years. Eleven years I have waited to get my revenge on Lily Potter. And at last I have." Voldemort's eyes gleamed.

"I would let you watch your Pokémon die," he said, his voice almost becoming casual as he glanced back at Charmeleon. "He has another minute, I'd say, before his body stops functioning. But I have no doubt Dumbledore is on his way so I must be quick. Seviper, if you would."

Harry looked up at Seviper's face, towering high above him, and knew he was seeing the last thing he ever would. He wished it weren't so, that somebody would come save him, that Dumbledore would appear, but deep down he knew that this was the end for him. He only regretted that he couldn't fulfil his promise to Ron to get Ginny back safe.

Seviper rose high, high into the air, and descended towards him.

An explosion echoed around the chamber and Seviper screeched in pain as three glowing balls of energy suddenly dropped from the sky, out of nowhere, and crashed into the unsuspecting poison type.

"What?!" Voldemort screamed, enraged at the interruption. Then the chamber was filled with a sound all too familiar to the both of them and their eyes were drawn upwards.

Xatu had returned, and not alone. Flying down alongside him was Dumbledore's Chimecho, singing a song so soothing that Harry felt his muscles relax. He felt his mind drift as the effects of Heal Bell sank in.

"Seviper, stop that thing!" Voldemort screamed, pointing at the new Pokémon in rage. Seviper responded, flinging its body recklessly upwards towards the two Pokémon. Chimecho's tune stopped as she and Xatu were forced to dodge the serpentine creature and fly away. Chimecho, not being able to teleport, was quickly targeted again and Seviper bared down on her with no mercy.

"Hoooo!" A call echoed around the chamber and fire sprung up around the ancient Seviper who writhed and twisted to try and escape the greedy flames and find the aggressor. When it did it let out an angry hiss.

Fawkes was back.

"Charmeleon," Harry called over to his Pokémon as discretely as possible, shifting from under Ginny's dead weight to try and get closer to him. Charmeleon groaned and Harry let out a sigh of relief as the fire type struggled to his feet, still looking the worse for wear but most definitely still alive.

Something rolled into his foot.

"Leave the bird! Get the boy! Get Potter!"

Harry looked up. Xatu was flying before him, completely still though somehow still able to remain airborne. Looking down Harry saw a Pokéball at his feet, and suddenly remembered that Xatu had brought two Pokéballs with him. One was Fawkes, the other…

Seviper hissed, thrashing loose of another attack from Fawkes and turning to where Harry lay. He reared back, preparing for one final attack to kill him once and for all. Except this time Harry was ready.

As Seviper charged towards him, mouth open wide, Harry opened the Pokéball, directing it towards Seviper. A loud clang echoed around the chamber, causing Harry to cover his ears and screw up his eyes as a large shield flashed before him. Seviper was blown back and, as the light dimmed, Harry was able to get a look at his saviour.

He had never seen a Pokémon like this. Most Pokémon had similarities to creatures Harry had known about before his Hogwarts days but this Pokémon did not. Floating before him was a grey sword, edged with red, tucked into a sheath behind a small round shield.

Seviper had recovered and again recklessly threw itself forward. The new Pokémon stood firm. Again a shield blossomed, protecting Harry and repelling Seviper who flinched back again. Harry couldn't believe it.

Suddenly the sword unsheathed itself, almost seeming to hold the shield as though it were a human warrior. The sword started to glow. It grew larger and brighter, turning to point towards the recovering Seviper.

At the exact same moment Seviper and the new sword Pokémon charged at each other. Mouth open wide Seviper looked to swallow the new Pokémon whole, but it had underestimated it's opponent.

The sword ripped through Seviper's mouth and soared out the back of it's head. Seviper hung in midair for a moment, before falling to the ground with an enormous thump, sending dust rising into the air.

There was silence in the chamber.

"No."

Voldemort's voice sounded so shocked that for the first time he seemed somewhat human as the dust started to clear and his figure became visible across the chamber. He was staring at Seviper with disbelief and seemed to have lost all awareness of what was going on around him.

Then his eyes flashed red.

"NO!" He screamed and he exploded, darkness flashing out across the room and blowing the dust away. The wave looked to be heading straight for Harry but suddenly the new Pokémon arrival appeared before him. The sword re-sheathed and a shield sprung up before him.

Harry covered his eyes as light sparked from the collision, wind roaring in his ears and for a moment he knew nothing of what was going on around him, only that he was in the middle of a storm.

Then, as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. The darkness faded, the wind calmed, the chamber fell quiet. And Voldemort had disappeared.

Harry pulled himself into a sitting position and tried to speak, but he was quickly overcome with coughs. It seemed dust had been blown into his lungs during the storm and he doubled over as he tried to clear his passageways. As he finally got control of his breathing he looked up, and found himself looking at the mysterious new Pokémon.

"Thank you," he said, feeling it was an inadequate way to recognise what this Pokémon had done for him. The Pokémon didn't seem to mind though, giving a soft humming noise that Harry took to be positive. He quickly searched his pockets, finding his Pokédex and pointing it at the Pokémon.

"Aegislash, the Royal Sword Pokémon. Generations of kings were attended by these Pokémon, which used their spectral power to manipulate and control people and Pokémon."

"Aegislash," Harry muttered. Aegislash made that same humming noise again and bobbed in the air.

The fluttering of wings brought Harry's attention and he looked up to see Fawkes, Xatu and Chimecho land around him.

"Thank you, everyone," he told them. "I'd be a goner without you." Charmeleon agreed, coming to stand next to Harry.

"Thank you too, Charmeleon," Harry told him. "You saved my life. How are you feeling?" Charmeleon brushed his question off but Harry could tell that his Pokémon wasn't at his best. "We'll get Madam Pomfrey to look you over when we get back up," he promised, causing Charmeleon to let out a sigh of relief.

They were distracted by movement and Harry turned.

Ginny was waking up.

"Wha…? Where am I?" Ginny said, her voice panicked. Harry could only wonder what her last memory had been before Voldemort had possessed her.

"Ginny!" Harry shouted, rushing over to her.

"Harry?" Ginny looked at him questioningly, blinking in confusion. "Where are we? What's going on?" She was so confused she hadn't even remembered to blush.

"It's a bit of a long story," Harry said carefully. Truthfully he wasn't sure they were really in the best place to be discussing what had happened.

Ginny just blinked and nodded, taking his word for it. Harry doubted that Ginny's obliviousness would last but for now he was grateful for it.

"Let's get going," Harry suggested, standing up and wincing as he realised that he was a lot more banged up than he thought. Ginny's eyes were wide.

"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly. There was something in her eyes that told Harry that her memories were going to be returning soon.

Harry smiled. "I'm fine, better than fine," he told her, giving a little stretch and discretely testing out his limbs. "We should go though, Ron will be worried about us."

Ginny must have had a thousand questions going through her mind at that moment as she looked around the enormous chamber she didn't even remember, seeing Aegislash, Fawkes, the Sorting Xatu, Chimecho, Charmeleon, and the deceased Seviper, but she kept them to herself, trusting that she'd find out eventually and that, for now, everything was alright.

The journey back didn't seem to take even half as long as the journey there and soon Harry and Ginny could hear the sounds of work up ahead.

"Bagon!" Norbert shouted excitedly, being the first to see them, bouncing up and down on the spot with unrestrained enthusiasm. A small hole had been formed in the rock slide and suddenly Ron's red-haired, freckled face appeared in it.

"Harry?! Ginny!"

"Hey Ron," Harry said with a grin. Adrenaline was pumping through his body and he couldn't help but feel giddy as he approached his best mate.

"You're alright!" Ron shouted, sounding half joyful, half disbelieving. "I can't believe… back Fang, back!" Fang's head appeared momentarily in the hole, his tongue hanging out comically causing Harry to laugh.

"We're alright," Harry said as Ron's head reappeared at the hole. "A bit bruised but we're fine."

Ron looked incredibly relieved. "Thank god," he muttered.

"You've been working hard," Harry commented, looking at the hole that had been made. It was quite an achievement. The rock slide had been so thick that Harry and Ron could probably only just hold hands through the tunnel they had formed.

"Tell me about it," Ron muttered, seeming to return to his old self. "The hole still isn't that big though. You'd certainly not get through it."

A hum sounded next to Harry and he looked over to see Aegislash hovering beside him.

"You think you can help?" Harry asked. Aegislash bobbed up and down. "Ok. Ron, move away, I've got a Pokémon on my end that wants a go." Ron nodded and disappeared from view and Harry gave the go ahead signal to Aegislash.

Withdrawing his sword Aegislash started to glow blue once more and, after a moment, shot towards the barricade. He cut through the rock like a hot knife through butter, flying out the other end to the shock of Ron and Hermione on the other side.

"Bloody hell!" Ron said loudly as Harry, Ginny, and the rest of the Pokémon walked through the opening that Aegislash had forged, all of them easily fitting through. "Ginny!"

Before Ginny had a chance to catch her breath Ron had grabbed her in an enormous bear hug, lifting the startled girl off her feet.

"You're really alright! I can't believe this," Ron rambled, looking over Ginny from head to toe.

"She doesn't remember it too well," Harry told them. "I think the memories are coming back but she's still a bit confused."

"But she's okay though?" Ron asked nervously, as though Ginny wasn't there. She huffed.

"I'm fine," she said, knocking his hands away from where they'd taken a vice like grip on her arms.

"I'm no doctor but I think she's okay," Harry grinned. The euphoria of winning wasn't going to fade soon.

"We should get out of here," Hermione said, her voice businesslike. "But Harry, where did Xatu, Ho-oh and Chimecho come from? And is that an Aegislash? It's an unusual colour."

Harry shook his head. "I'll tell you later," he said. "It's a long story and I'm exhausted. Let's get out of here."

The journey back to the slide passed by in near silence. Harry could tell the other three were dying to ask him questions but he was glad they were holding back. The adrenaline was starting to leave him and Harry was starting to feel the strain of the day's events, both mentally and physically.

It was only when they got to the base of the slide that they found a flaw in their plan.

"Eh, how do we get back up?" Ron asked, looking up into the tunnel. Even with the fiery light of Charmeleon, Fawkes and Arcanine he couldn't see very far up.

"I don't suppose we can climb," Hermione suggested halfheartedly. As if in answer Fawkes fluttered forward and hovered in front of Hermione, holding out its legs. "Are you saying you can take me up?" Fawkes let out an agreeable note.

"Fawkes is really strong," Harry said. "Fawkes, can you take more than one of us at a time?" Fawkes nodded.

"Take Ginny," Ron said quickly. Ginny rolled her eyes at Ron's overprotectiveness but nevertheless stepped forward. She and Hermione each grabbed hold of one of Fawkes' legs and, with an almighty whoosh and screams of surprise, Fawkes soared up into the shaft, disappearing from view, Hermione's HootHoot following hurriedly behind them.

As if responding to some unspoken command Xatu flew forward. A blue light surrounded his eyes and suddenly the Pokémon there, Arcanine, Wartortle, Pandora the Eevee, Fang, Aragog and Norbert, were lifted into the air.

"Bagon!" Norbert cried happily, spinning around in a circle. The other Pokémon looked less pleased about the situation. Fang even managing to get stuck hanging upside down. One by one they floated up and into the tunnel, with Xatu following behind them.

"Great, so how do we get up?" Ron wondered as they were left behind. To answer Ron Chimecho appeared before him, holding out its tail.

"I think she wants you to hold on," Harry told him.

"Hold on," Ron repeated, looking doubtful. "I'm like a hundred times its size." Chimecho let out a call and shook its tail, giving Ron a pointed look.

"Alright," Ron said warily, taking hold. "But I don't see how you're going to… Ahhhh!" Ron and Chimecho flew into the air, Ron's legs flailing beneath him as they left the ground, and they too disappeared up the tunnel.

"Are you going to take me up?" Harry asked, turning to Aegislash. Only Harry, Charmeleon and Aegislash remained. Aegislash hummed in agreement.

"Alright," Harry said, moving over so that he could climb onto the back of Aegislash. Unlike Ron he had no reason to believe Aegislash couldn't handle his weight. "Are you holding on tight Charmeleon?" Harry asked, looking over to where Charmeleon was clasping onto his shoulder. Charmeleon nodded. "Then lets go."

The ride up the tunnel was almost as exhilarating as the ride down. The flame on Charmeleon's tail meant they were never in total darkness but still Harry could only ever see a few feet ahead at a time as Aegislash zoomed up, navigating the twists and turns with ease, before they emerged into the surprising bright light of Myrtle's bathroom.

"Never again," Ron moaned, leaning against the wall and looking sick, Chimecho hovering worriedly nearby.

"I found that fascinating," Hermione said, as though to spite Ron. "Not many people can say they were carried by a Ho-oh before." Ron glared at her. It seemed he was regretting his decision to send Ginny in his place.

The Ho-oh in question, Fawkes, was doing slow circles of the room. Below him Fang and Norbert were running around, following the flight of the bird, until the two Pokémon bumped heads. Norbert was fine, Fang, not so much.

Ho-oh took this moment to swoop down and out the door, hovering just outside and looking back at them.

"I think he wants us to follow him," Harry said. And so they did.

They made an odd group. Four Hogwarts students. Eleven Pokémon, one of which was legendary.

They followed Fawkes down several corridors, the darkness outside the window the only indication of how much time had passed since Harry, Ron and Hermione had first entered the secret chamber, and it became clear that Fawkes was taking them to Professor McGonagall's office moments before they reached it.

Harry knocked, hearing the noise from inside grow quiet.

"Enter," came McGonagall's stern, if weary, voice, and Harry pushed open the door.

For a brief moment there was silence as Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny crossed the threshold to McGonagall's office. Then, in a moment, it was shattered.

"Ginny!"

Mrs Weasley, sitting in front of the fireplace, leapt to her feet and threw herself at her daughter, Mr Weasley not far behind. Behind them Professor McGonagall gasped. And behind her stood Albus Dumbledore, wearing a broad beaming smile.

That was all Harry had the chance to see before Mrs Weasley pulled him and Hermione into a bone crushing hug.

"Thank you. Thank you," she repeated as she held onto them tightly. Over her shoulder Harry saw Mr Weasley clasp Ron's shoulder, looking incredibly relieved, and proud.

"Sentiments I think we can all agree with," Dumbledore said wisely, stepping forward. "Molly, perhaps we should let our young friends into the room. They seem to have quite a following."

It was only then that Mr and Mrs Weasley became aware of the small army of Pokémon that stood out in the corridor. One by one they sidled into the room and spread out, making the office a lot more cramped than it had been before. A sudden noise brought Harry's attention and something swooped down from the ceiling.

"Fletchinder," Harry said, relieved to see his fire and flying type as he alighted on his arm. "You were able to get help then?"

"He certainly did," Dumbledore agreed. "And just in time, I imagine."

Harry nodded. "Yeah," he said, turning to his Pokémon. "Just in time. Thank you Fletchinder." Beside Harry, Charmeleon stepped forward to give his own thanks. Fletchinder puffed up his chest at the praise.

"Mr Potter," Professor McGonagall spoke, struggling to keep her balance in the crowded room as Fang nuzzled up against her legs. "Who are all these Pokémon?"

Harry hesitated, looking around the room. Charmeleon and Fletchinder were with him, and so too was Norbert, sitting at his feet. Arcanine had laid himself down by the fire, enjoying the affections of Ron as he took a seat with his parents, Squirtle by his side. Fawkes had flown over to Dumbledore, along with Chimecho, and Hoothoot had perched on Hermione's shoulder, Hermione herself holding Luna's Eevee in her arms. Xatu was standing on McGonagall's desk, overlooking Aragog, and Aegislash hovered by the wall behind him.

"Perhaps it would be best to start this story at the beginning," Dumbledore suggested. "I have a feeling our questions will be answered. If you would, Harry."

Harry took a deep breath, and nodded.

He started with the moment McGonagall had announced that Ginny had been taken, telling how Ron refused to stand by and so they went to find Myrtle. He told them of their tussle with Lockhart, their finding Pandora, and the discovery of the ghost of Myrtle in the second floor bathroom. Harry told them how he sent Fletchinder for help while he, Ron and Hermione went down the tunnel to the secret chamber and how the rock slide had cut him off from the others. He told them how he and Charmeleon went on alone, and how they met Voldemort at the end of the passage.

Harry told his captivated audience how Voldemort had taken credit for the attacks, both this year and fifty years ago, and how he had called upon Slytherin's Seviper to kill him. Harry told them of Xatu's timely arrival, described as best he could the chaotic battle that had followed, culminating in Aegislash killing the Seviper and Voldemort fleeing.

"Then we headed back and well… here we are," he finished awkwardly, looking around the silent room. Everyone seemed stunned. All except Dumbledore.

He had taken a seat as Harry's tale had been told and had watched him over his clasped hands, all the while a soft twinkle glinted in his eye.

"A most remarkable story," he said softly, breaking the silence. "It just goes to show you that sometimes even the most wild of fantasies can have nothing on real life."

"So, You-know-who is gone, then?" Mrs Weasley asked nervously.

"For now, at least," Dumbledore told her. "With the loss of Slytherin's Seviper he has no weapon with which to use and would not risk the chance of being captured now that he knows that I am back in the castle."

"Quite right," Professor McGonagall said briskly. It seemed she was starting to regain her composure. "And good riddance." Dumbledore smiled at that before turning to Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"Hogwarts owes the three of you a great debt of thanks," he told them, causing the three second years to look down and blush. "I think a hundred points each for Gryffindor are in order, and an award for Special Services to the School wouldn't be remiss either."

Harry, Ron and Hermione beamed at each other.

"But for now I think what we all need is some rest," Dumbledore said. "Professor McGonagall, would you be so kind as to escort the Weasleys and Ms Granger to the Hospital Wing. I'd like to speak with Harry for just a moment longer."

"Of course," McGonagall said at once, shuffling forward and dutifully shepherding the others out of the office. Ginny went quietly, her head bent low, but Ron and Hermione kept glancing back over their shoulders as they went, clearly wanting to see what Dumbledore had to say to Harry.

"Charmeleon, why don't you go with the others," Harry suggested, nudging the fire type to get his attention. Harry's starter was putting on a brave face but Harry could tell he was near exhaustion. "You too, Fletchinder," he said, turning to his flying type. "I'll be fine. I'm with Dumbledore."

Charmeleon and Fletchinder looked torn, both of them clearly unwilling to leave Harry's side. They turned to look at Dumbledore.

"I promise, Harry will come to no harm while he is with me," Dumbledore said solemnly, his voice so honest and genuine that the two Pokémon could not find it in themselves not to trust him. And so they left, leaving Harry alone with Professor Dumbledore, Fawkes, the Sorting Xatu, Aegislash, and Chimecho.

"Chime!" Chimecho cheered happily, floating over and twisting herself around Harry's arm. Despite his tiredness Harry couldn't help but smile.

"Chimecho has missed you greatly," Dumbledore told him with a smile. "I have never seen her so taken with a student in all my years." Harry's smile faded slightly.

"Sir, will the people in the hospital wing be alright?" Harry asked.

"I assume you mean the victims from the previous attacks," Dumbledore said. "Yes, I believe they will be okay, thanks to you." Harry blushed. "After we have finished here I will have Professor Snape go down and examine the Seviper. You may have already guessed but Professor Snape is something of an expert when it comes to poisons and will no doubt be able to form an antidote within the next few days."

Harry let out a grateful sigh. "That's a relief," he admitted. "Charmeleon was bitten too but he seems alright. Thanks Chimecho." Chimecho gave a cheerful cry and flew a circuit around Harry's arm.

Dumbledore smiled as he watched his Pokémon interact with his pupil, though the smile slowly fell from his face. He sighed.

"So you met Voldemort again," he commented. "And what's more in the guise of his younger self. I imagine you've got many questions." Harry did, so many questions, but now that he had the opportunity to ask he couldn't decide what to say. In the end he went with an easy one.

"When Xatu arrived he used an attack," he said. "Then it disappeared for, like, a minute before it came back. What happened?"

Dumbledore chuckled. Evidently his choice of question had amused him.

"That was Xatu's Future Sight attack," Dumbledore explained. "For most Pokémon using Future Sight causes the attack to occur a set amount of time after it is first cast. In the case of Xatu his extraordinary powers of fortune telling allowed him to see the precise moment you were most in need of help, and allowed him to adapt his attack accordingly."

Harry nodded. It was incredible, but he hadn't come to expect anything less from the Sorting Xatu.

"And Aegislash," Harry continued. "Is he yours?" Dumbledore laughed.

"Not at all, Harry," Dumbledore told him. "No, I have never seen such a distinguishable Aegislash before, but I think I have an idea where he came from."

"Where?" Harry asked interestedly. If Aegislash didn't belong to Dumbledore then whose Pokémon was he. He'd come in a Pokéball.

"Long ago, when Hogwarts was first founded, each of the four founders chose a Pokémon they felt represented the qualities they wanted in the students of their respective houses," Dumbledore told him. "Slytherin chose the mighty Rayquaza, Guardian of the Skies, Hufflepuff chose Regigigas to symbolise the power of togetherness and teamwork, Ravenclaw chose Cobalion, a Pokémon of justice, and Gryffindor chose Entei to represent the fiery passion and lion hearted bravery of his house."

"It is often debated whether the founders actually had any of these Pokémon in their possession," Dumbledore continued. "I think it unlikely but there are some Pokémon that we do know came from the founders of Hogwarts. Some in this very room." He gestured to Xatu.

"When it came to sorting students into houses it fell upon Rowena Ravenclaw's wise and trusted Xatu to take up the task once the founders passed away. Ever since Xatu has guided our world by directing us to where we are best suited to succeed, right at the start of our Pokémon journey."

"You met another of the founder's Pokémon in Slytherin's Seviper, down in the Chamber of Secrets," Dumbledore said. "And then just moments later you met a third."

"Aegislash belonged to one of the founders?" Harry asked, astonished.

"Godric Gryffindor, to be precise," Dumbledore confirmed. "It has long been simply rumour that Gryffindor fought alongside his partner, a distinctively marked Aegislash, but now I believe it to be true. I have never heard of an Aegislash with such individual markings."

"Wow," Harry breathed, looking on Aegislash in a new light. The Pokémon had protected Harry when he had most needed it, and Harry was always going to respect it for that, but to find that this Pokémon once belonged to Godric Gryffindor was more than Harry could have ever expected.

"There's an interesting history behind Aegislash," Dumbledore said. "It's un-evolved form, Honedge, is said to come into being when a warrior dies on the battlefield and it's enemy picks up its sword. The warrior's spirit is said to inhabit the sword and drain the energy of those who dare touch it, providing it sentience."

"I can't believe that," Harry muttered in disbelief.

"It is only legend that tells us this," Dumbledore agreed. "How Honedge breed has long been a mystery for Pokémon trainers. Nevertheless, Gryffindor himself believed the tale. He claimed that his Aegislash held the soul of a great warrior who, even in death, fought to defend the innocent."

"He certainly did that," Harry agreed. "He saved my life." Aegislash hummed happily.

Harry frowned, remembering something. "You said that Seviper was Slytherin's," he pointed out. "Did you know that already?" Dumbledore shook his head.

"No, though it only makes sense," Dumbledore assured him. "Seviper are poison type Pokémon so naturally I suspected that the Pokémon hidden in the chamber might have been a Seviper, but there was something else that makes it inevitable that it would be the case."

"What is it?" Harry asked, curious.

"One of the most well documented facts about Seviper is that it shares a heated rivalry with Zangoose," Dumbledore informed him. "When they sense each other's presence they will stop at nothing to defeat the other, often ignoring their trainer's commands."

"Justin's Zangoose," Harry breathed, realising what Dumbledore was talking about. Now that he thought about it it was so obvious. "Voldemort said that Justin had been an accident. Seviper must have sensed Justin's Zangoose and gone after it. And then…" Harry tailed off, feeling slightly sick.

"Quite," Dumbledore agreed. "A terrible loss, to be sure. I do not envy Mr Finch Fletchley right this moment." There was a dull silence in the room as the death of Justin's Pokémon fell heavily on their minds.

"So," Harry said, breaking the silence. "What's going to happen to Aegislash now?" Aegislash hovered near the wall, looking unconcerned about its future. Dumbledore smiled.

"Aegislash is free to go wherever he pleases," Dumbledore informed Harry. "I would not dare to try and restrict him, though I have hope that Aegislash may be willing to accept an offer I wish to propose." He turned to Aegislash.

"Aegislash, you have, once again, done your duty in defending the students of Hogwarts. I ask you now to join me in ensuring that no student should ever have to be in danger again."

"Aegislash," the Pokémon hummed, needing no second thought on the offer. It was clear that Aegislash, like Godric Gryffindor had claimed so many years ago, truly was a defender of the innocent.

Harry's smile flickered. "And what about Lockhart?" He asked. So far the Pokémon Battling Professor hadn't come up since Harry had told of how he had fled the castle. Harry could only guess as to what Dumbledore was thinking.

"Hmm," Dumbledore murmured, looking at his hands contemplatively. "Well, from what you have told me I highly doubt he is still in the castle at this moment," Dumbledore said. "If he were smart he would know better than to attempt to return." Dumbledore's voice was calm but there was a definite note of certainty in the air.

"I agree," Harry said. "He wasn't even a good teacher." Dumbledore's beard twitched.

"Rest assured, Harry," he said. "Professor Lockhart will not be teaching come next year. In fact, I have a candidate in mind for the Pokémon Battling job." He winked at Harry. "If I am able to convince him I have no doubt you will approve."

Harry smiled, excited by the idea of a competent Battling Professor, before he yawned. Dumbledore chuckled.

"It seems like time is making a fool of us once again," he chortled. "You have been through quite a day and it is already late. A good night's rest in the Hospital Wing is just what the doctor ordered. And if I keep you too much longer I have no doubt Madam Pomfrey will track you down and drag you there herself."

Harry smiled at the thought, having little doubt that Madam Pomfrey would do just that. But he had one final question he wanted answered.

"Professor Dumbledore, can I ask you one more thing?" he wondered.

"I don't see why not," Dumbledore said amicably. Harry nodded.

"Cornelius Fudge arrested Hagrid for the attacks, but why?" Harry asked. "I know that Hagrid was blamed last time too but I don't get why anyone could believe that Hagrid would do that. How did Voldemort get away with it?"

Dumbledore sighed. "It is a sad story, and a deeply personal one for Hagrid, but I have no doubt he wouldn't mind me sharing it with you, given everything that has transpired tonight." He shifted in his seat to get comfortable.

"When the chamber was opened last Voldemort, then known to most people as young, handsome Tom Riddle, model student, prefect, and clearly destined for great things, was in his sixth year at Hogwarts," Dumbledore explained. "Hagrid was in his third."

"He was only thirteen?" Harry gasped. Dumbledore nodded before continuing his story.

"When poor Myrtle was found dead in the second floor bathroom there was an inquiry of epic proportions," Dumbledore explained. "There were rumours of the Chamber of Secrets at the time but few, if any, truly believed it, and because of that everyone was at a loss as to how she died. Then Tom, acting seemingly through duty, informed the investigators that he'd seen a third year Gryffindor struggling with a wild and dangerous Ariados."

"Aragog," Harry said. "Riddle framed him."

"Yes, he did," Dumbledore said. "Undoubtedly scared that a bit more digging might uncover the secret chamber and Salazar Slytherin's legacy, Tom Riddle diverted attention to Hagrid and Aragog to distract from the truth."

"But how could he think that would work?" Harry wondered. "It didn't, did it. Hagrid was still free to work here and he had Aragog too."

"At first the investigators were eager to prosecute, this being the only lead they'd had in the case," Dumbledore said. "They were under a lot of pressure to catch the killer and so they jumped at the chance to pin the blame on Aragog. It took my timely intervention, along with a test on Aragog's venom, to prove that Aragog was not the Pokémon to attack Myrtle. Unfortunately public opinion had already been swayed."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"This was a very important case, Harry," Dumbledore said. "Everyone was interested in it. When it was suggested that Hagrid may have caused the death of Myrtle it was printed in every media outlet under the sun and by the time I'd proved otherwise many, if not most, of the readers had become convinced that Hagrid was guilty."

"So he was expelled," Harry said, remembering how Hagrid had told him he'd never finished his schooling.

"Not exactly," Dumbledore said. "There was enormous pressure on then headmaster Armando Dippet to do so but it would have been a travesty of justice. Nevertheless, it would have been unfair on Hagrid to expose him to such public ridicule and indeed the taunting from his fellow students, so I arranged for him to receive a more practical fellowship under the tutelage of a friend of mine. It wasn't until many years later, when I was on the hunt for a new groundskeeper, that I had the chance to see how he was doing." Dumbledore smiled.

"I was most impressed," he said. "I hired him at once."

Harry smiled. "Hagrid is brilliant at his job," he said.

"We're in agreement on that," Dumbledore replied. "The problem is that people have long memories and certain people, whether out of a misguided sense of duty or a deliberate desire to make his life difficult, put pressure on Minister Fudge to have Hagrid arrested when the attacks restarted. With the events of tonight we should be able to clear Hagrid's name once and for all."

"So Hagrid will be coming back?" Harry asked. "He won't have to stay in Azkaban?"

"I have already sent word to the Ministry that he should be released," Dumbledore said. "If for any reason they try and hold firm in their belief of his guilt I will move heaven and earth to get him out of there."

Harry had no doubt from Dumbledore's uncompromising tone that he meant it too.

"And with that I think it's good night," Dumbledore said with a note of finality that said the time for questions was over. And so, recognising that it was late and that Dumbledore no doubt had a lot of things to do in the aftermath of the chamber incident, Harry left Professor McGonagall's office and headed on down to the Hospital Wing.

"There you are," Madam Pomfrey said as soon as he arrived, bustling over to him in a business like fashion and quickly directing him to a bed. "About time you joined us, Mr Potter. You should have come straight to me after getting out of that awful chamber."

As Madam Pomfrey bustled around him, examining every bump and bruise he had collected over the course of the day, Harry was able to catch glimpses of the rest of the room. Ron and Hermione had each been assigned beds, though they didn't appear to have anything wrong with them, and Charmeleon was busy battling the attentions of Madam Pomfrey's two Pokémon helpers, her Chansey and Audino. In the far corner of the room lay Ginny, resting in a fitful doze as Mr and Mrs Weasley watched anxiously over her.

"Hmm, no major injuries," Madam Pomfrey concluded, looking as though the fact he wasn't worse off was highly suspicious. "You're very lucky, Potter. I've heard the story from Mr Weasley and Ms Granger, most students who went through what you've dealt with tonight would be dead by now."

"No kidding," Harry murmured under his breath as Madam Pomfrey moved away, approaching Charmeleon who looked rather put out at being bed bound. As the nurse left Fletchinder, one of the few to have remained untouched by the medical team, came by and alighted on Harry's headboard.


	18. Back To Normal

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

The Hospital Wing remained mostly quiet through the night. Harry, Ron and Hermione were far too exhausted to make much conversation but even so Harry found he couldn't quite doze off, and one glance around the room showed that the same was true for Ron and Hermione.

Ginny continued to sleep restlessly. Mr and Mrs Weasley continued to stay awake, watching. At some point about an hour after Harry had joined them Professor Snape had appeared, stopping only to speak a few brisk words to a serious looking Madam Pomfrey before disappearing once more.

In fact, nothing really of note happened until about three o'clock in the morning, when the sky outside was only just starting to lighten and Harry finally felt himself start to drift off.

A rustling sound was heard at the door, accompanied by heavy footsteps, and the big wooden doors of the Hospital Wing creaked awfully loudly as they were pushed open and Rubeus Hagrid stepped into the room.

"Hagrid," Harry said, being the first to notice his appearance. His cry sparked a huge reaction.

"Bagon!" Norbert cried and he ran full pelt across the room, throwing himself head first at the giant man's midriff and causing Hagrid to let out a gasp as the air was knocked out of his lungs.

"Hey there, Norbert," Hagrid greeted, a smile spreading across his bearded face. Moments later he was swamped as Fang and even Aragog came charging over to greet him. Fang leapt up and down excitedly, eagerly trying to lick Hagrid's face, and Aragog, in an uncharacteristic show of affection, clambered up Hagrid's back to perch himself on his shoulder.

"Hagrid, you're back!" Ron shouted, having just woken up. The entire room was looking at Hagrid now, each of them having been woken from their various states of sleep.

"Yeah, I'm back, an' it's thanks ter you lot, yeh know," Hagrid said with a grin. "How 'ave me Pokémon been, eh? Not too much of a hassle I hope."

"Not at all," Hermione told him. "They've been wonderful."

"Yeah, Hagrid, I loved having Fang around," Ron agreed.

"Norbert saved my life," said Harry.

"Did he now?" Hagrid asked, amazed. "Norbert, what a good boy." Norbert looked absolutely overjoyed, jumping up and down on the spot, so happy to be reunited with his trainer.

Suddenly, incredibly, Norbert started to glow.

"Norbert?" Hagrid said, looking stunned.

"Oh my," Madam Pomfrey chimed in.

Meanwhile Norbert continued to glow brighter and brighter. He started to grow bigger, and rounder, until suddenly the dazzling light exploded into nothing and Norbert was revealed again.

"Shelgon," Norbert said quietly. He had evolved.

"Wow," Hermione said, fishing through her pockets until she came up with her Pokédex, which she pointed at the new Pokémon.

"Shelgon, the Endurance Pokémon. Inside Shelgon's armour-like shell cells are in the midst of transformation to create an entirely new body. This Pokémon's shell is extremely heavy, making its movements sluggish."

"Norbert, you evolved," Hagrid said, his voice awed. "Come here." He held his arms open and, with just a second's hesitation, Norbert jumped into them, knocking the giant man onto his backside.

Everyone was smiling now, even Madam Pomfrey, who was doing her best to keep a look of disapproval on her face. As Harry looked around he saw that Ron was holding his sides he was laughing so hard, Hermione brushing away a tear as she watched the scene, and Mr and Mrs Weasley shared a fond glance as they watched Fang pile on top of the Pokémon and trainer pile up.

And behind them, propping herself up in her bed, was Ginny.

She looked unrested, and ill, but nevertheless, despite the enormous hardships she had faced, a small, barely noticeable smile, creased her lips, and Harry knew that, eventually, she would be alright.

* * *

Their return to the student body was never going to go unnoticed, yet it was still a surprise the extent to which the Gryffindors celebrated their return when they were finally released from the Hospital Wing, sans Ginny.

How the story had reached the Gryffindor students was a mystery but somehow the residents of Gryffindor Tower had discovered that Harry, Ron and Hermione had found the Chamber of Secrets and that Harry had defeated Slytherin's monster and rescued Ginny.

On their admittance to the Gryffindor Common Room they were met with a wall of noise as everyone cheered, stood up, and applauded. Fred and George, absolutely beaming, had fought their way to the front, enveloped Harry and Hermione in a massive group hug, and then lifted Ron up onto their shoulders, parading him around the room to the chant of 'Weasley is our king'.

Percy too had thanked Harry and Hermione, surprising them by favouring them each with a hug. Percy had never come across to anyone as the hugging type but it seemed that in this case he was too overjoyed to care.

The Gryffindor's jubilation only increased when they became aware of the three hundred house points that Harry, Ron and Hermione had won between them, easily handing them their first House Cup victory in ten years.

The last couple of weeks passed by in a flash of good news followed by good news. The very first morning after the incident down in the chamber Dumbledore had stood up and announced that Hagrid had been cleared of all charges and would once again resume his duties as groundskeeper, to great applause, Hagrid looking as proud as punch as he sat up at the staff table, Norbert by his side.

Just a few days later Dumbledore was able to announce that Professor Snape had succeeded in concocting an antidote to Seviper's venom and that it was to be administered to the victims of the attacks within the next few hours.

During breakfast of the final full day at Hogwarts before the summer holidays the entire hall stood up and applauded as the victims of the attacks, including, much to Fred and George's dismay, Mrs Norris, walked into the Great Hall for the first time since they had awoken.

But despite all the positive energy around the castle Harry felt his own happiness wain as he became all too aware of the fact that it was time to go.

It hadn't been an easy year, he thought as he pulled down his trunk from the luggage rack and prepared to disembark the Hogwarts Express, but it had been brilliant. The world of Pokémon was one of magic and wonder and Harry had been no more aware of it than he was now as he prepared to shut himself away from this marvellous world for a couple of months and return to the Dursleys.

"You'll come stay with us," Ron assured him. "Trust me, mum and dad would absolutely love it if you came over. I think they like you better than they like me."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Hermione teased but there was a touch of melancholy to her voice. Like Harry, Hermione would be leaving the Pokémon world for the muggle one and, while her parents were undoubtedly a damn sight better than the Dursleys, the desire to remain at Hogwarts for just a few more days was strong. Ron obviously noticed too.

"Cheer up, guys," he told them. "It's only a couple of months and then we'll be back. And there won't be any secret chambers or mysterious attacks or annoying teachers next year. Well, except Snape."

"I'm going to miss you guys," Hermione told them. "Promise you'll keep in touch, I can't stand another summer like last one."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Ron grinned.

"I promise," Harry told her, and he meant it more than either she or Ron could understand for, as he exited through the barrier that split the muggle world from the Pokémon one and saw the Dursleys waiting for him, looking as dour and surly as ever, he knew that the next couple of months would be hell.

Still, he thought mildly as he bid Ron and Hermione a final goodbye, he had faced off against an ancient and deadly Seviper, what's the worst they could do.

And on that, unfortunate, temptation of fate Harry Potter walked away from his second year as a Pokémon trainer.

* * *

A/N: And that's that for Harry's second year at Hogwarts. I hope you've all enjoyed this instalment of the series and that I'll see you all when the next one comes up. Like last time I'm going to take a couple of weeks break between stories so I'll see you all again in two weeks.

In the meantime I'd love to hear what you think about the series so far. If there's something in particular you've enjoyed in this story or if there's anything you think I could have done better then just leave a review and let me know. Also if there's anything you particularly want to see going forward, like specific Pokémon or characters, let me know as well, although I will note that I already know exactly which Pokémon each character will catch so that's already set in stone.

And to leave you on a good note here is a short preview of the next story in the series, 'Harry Potter and the Dusknoir of Azkaban'.

Chapter 1: Marjorie Dursley

 _In the smallest bedroom of Number 4, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey, sat a highly unusual boy. He was small, shorter and skinnier than a boy his age should be. He had jet black hair, stuck up in all directions, and startling emerald green eyes hidden behind a pair of battered old spectacles._

 _His relatives, the Dursley family, would list all of these things as unusual traits, but the thing that made young Harry Potter truly unique was something much more significant._

 _Harry was a Pokémon trainer._

 _In his room with him were his two Pokémon. Charmeleon, his starter Pokémon, was leaning casually against the wall, lazily enjoying another uneventful day, while Fletchinder, Harry's partner for the popular trainer sport Quidditch, was napping from atop the standalone wardrobe, his head under his wing. Harry himself was sitting on the bed, immersed in the pages of a leather bound photo album he had received from his good friend Hagrid, Keeper of the Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts, for his thirteenth birthday no more than a couple of weeks ago._

 _Harry flipped the page and studied the next picture, as he'd spent much of his time doing since he'd received the gift, gazing down at the man and woman who appeared on near every page. He had never known his parents, for they had been killed when he was a mere year old, and so the photos held within this photo album were the only glimpses Harry had ever had of what his parents looked like. His father looked a lot like him, skinny and with short, untidy, dark hair and glasses, but he'd inherited his mother's eyes._

 _Hagrid's gift was something of a thank you to Harry for the actions he had taken during the shocking events of the end of the previous school year at Hogwarts. Hagrid had been arrested, suspected of setting a monster on the students, and taken to the Pokémon prison, Azkaban. It was through Harry's actions as he strove to save his best friend's sister, Ginny Weasley, that proved that Hagrid was innocent, and had been all along, of the crime he'd been charged with and exposed the true villain, Lord Voldemort._

 _No matter Hagrid's reasons Harry could not be more grateful. It was truly a wondrous gift._


End file.
